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The Latest: Victim's kin: High-rise should've had sprinklers

HONOLULU (AP) - The Latest on a deadly high-rise apartment building fire in Honolulu (all times local):

1:50 p.m.

A man whose brother and mother were killed when fire swept through their high-rise apartment building in Honolulu says the building's management company should have installed fire sprinklers, even though it wasn't required by law.

Phil Reller says Sunday he's still in shock that his brother Britt Reller and their 85-year-old mother, Melba Jeannine Dilley, were killed in Friday's blaze.

They were among three people who died when the blaze raged through the Marco Polo high-rise apartment building.

A fire official has said the building didn't have fire sprinklers, which officials say would have stopped the flames from spreading.

The building was built in 1971, before sprinklers were mandatory in high-rises

Reller says he doesn't care that the law didn't require fire sprinklers. He says the management company should have still installed them anyway to keep residents safe.

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11 a.m.

Residents say they didn't realize a deadly inferno was raging in their high-rise apartment building in Honolulu until they opened their doors and saw firefighters racing to battle the flames.

Several residents told The Associated Press there were no building fire alarm sirens in the units at the Marco Polo high-rise apartment building where Friday's blaze broke out.

Cory La Roe, who works as an Air Force cyber technician, says there were no announcements or flashing lights. He says he realized there was a fire after he saw people running from their apartments.

Family members have identified those killed as 54-year-old Britt Reller, his 85-year-old mother Melba Jeannine Dilley and 71-year-old Joanna Kuwata.

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10:15 a.m.

Family members of a 71-year-old woman say she is the third victim killed in a high-rise fire in Honolulu.

Jayne Matsuyama tells The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (http://bit.ly/2tZe2GC) that her sister Joanna Kuwata was one of three people killed in Friday's blaze.

Matsuyama says her sister was single and lived alone on the 26th floor of the high-rise where the fire broke out. She says Kuwata, who retired about five years ago, had lived in the building for the last two decades.

Matsuyama told the newspaper that her sister's apartment was not damaged by the fire.

Hawaiian Airlines in-flight manager, 54-year-old Britt Reller, and his 85-year-old mother, Melba Jeannine Dilley, were among the dead. A dozen other people were injured in the fire.

Fire officials have not released the cause of the blaze.

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9:14 p.m.

As smoke filled his 26th-floor apartment in Honolulu, a Hawaiian Airlines manager made one final telephone call to his brother, the brother says, before both the man and his mother were killed in the blaze.

Pearl City Community Church Pastor Phil Reller told The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (http://bit.ly/2tXsf7e) that police confirmed that two of the three victims killed in the blaze Friday are his mother and brother.

Reller told the newspaper he received a call from his brother, Britt Reller, 54, saying he had been taking a shower when he smelled the smoke. He rushed out but was unable to get to their 85-year-old mother, Melba Jeannine Dilley. He had crawled under a bed and wasn't heard from again, his brother told the newspaper.

A Honolulu Fire Department helicopter flies near a fire burning on a floor at the Marco Polo apartment complex, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
An evacuation bus takes residents of the Marco Polo building to a nearby shelter after a deadly fire at the building, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Volunteers prepare food and drinks at a school for the residents of the Marco Polo building, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. A deadly fire broke out in the building killing three people and sent hundreds to a nearby school for the night. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Residents of the Marco Polo building register at a shelter for overnight accommodations after a deadly fire tore through the high rise building, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Residents of the Marco Polo building arrive at a nearby shelter after a deadly fire tore through the condo, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Law enforcement officers stand at the scene of a multi-alarm fire at the Marco Polo apartment complex in Honolulu, Friday, July 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy) The Associated Press
A paramedic checks on a woman, lying on a median, after she and others exited the Marco Polo apartment complex as firefighters continue to battle a blaze at the high-rise, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Onlookers stand on a sidewalk as a fire burns at the Marco Polo apartment complex, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)) The Associated Press
Debris falls off a balcony during a fire at the Marco Polo apartment complex, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Firefighters work at the scene of a multiple-alarm fire at the Marco Polo apartment complex, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Smoke from a deadly fire at the Marco Polo apartment complex, covers the Waikiki skyline Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Smoke billows from the upper floors of the Marco Polo apartment complex, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Smoke billows from the upper floors of the Marco Polo apartment complex, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Smoke billows from the upper floors of the Marco Polo apartment complex, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Firefighters on a lower balcony spray water upwards while trying to contain a fire at the Marco Polo apartments, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Firefighters on several balconies spray water upwards while trying to contain a fire at the Marco Polo apartment complex, Friday, July 14, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
This photo provided by Bruce Campbell, a unit manager in the Marco Polo building in Honolulu, shows the charred interior of the building on Saturday, July 15, 2017. A fire broke out Friday afternoon in a unit on the 26th floor, where all three of the dead were found, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said. The building is not required to have fire sprinklers, which would have confined the blaze to the unit where it started, Neves said. The 36-floor building near the tourist mecca of Waikiki was built in 1971, before sprinklers were mandatory in high-rises. Bruce Campbell via AP) The Associated Press
This photo provided by Bruce Campbell, a unit manager in the Marco Polo building in Honolulu, shows the charred interior of the building on Saturday, July 15, 2017. A fire broke out Friday afternoon in a unit on the 26th floor, where all three of the dead were found, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said. The building is not required to have fire sprinklers, which would have confined the blaze to the unit where it started, Neves said. The 36-floor building near the tourist mecca of Waikiki was built in 1971, before sprinklers were mandatory in high-rises. Bruce Campbell via AP) The Associated Press
This photo provided by Bruce Campbell, a unit manager in the Marco Polo building in Honolulu, shows the charred interior of the building on Saturday, July 15, 2017. A fire broke out Friday afternoon in a unit on the 26th floor, where all three of the dead were found, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said. The building is not required to have fire sprinklers, which would have confined the blaze to the unit where it started, Neves said. The 36-floor building near the tourist mecca of Waikiki was built in 1971, before sprinklers were mandatory in high-rises. Bruce Campbell via AP) The Associated Press
This photo provided by Bruce Campbell, a unit manager in the Marco Polo building in Honolulu, shows the charred interior of the building on Saturday, July 15, 2017. A fire broke out Friday afternoon in a unit on the 26th floor, where all three of the dead were found, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said. The building is not required to have fire sprinklers, which would have confined the blaze to the unit where it started, Neves said. The 36-floor building near the tourist mecca of Waikiki was built in 1971, before sprinklers were mandatory in high-rises. (Bruce Campbell via AP) The Associated Press
Contractors clean the walls outside the Marco Polo residence, Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Honolulu. A deadly fire started on the 26th floor of the building and quickly spread to others killing at least three people Friday. Residents were allowed back in the building early Saturday morning and they, along with many contractors spent the day cleaning up the mess left from the fire. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Contractors sweep up the fallen debris after a deadly fire swept through the Marco Polo residence, Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Honolulu. The fire started on the 26th floor of the building and quickly spread to others killing at least three people Friday. Residents were allowed back in the building early Saturday morning and they, along with many contractors spent the day cleaning up the mess left from the fire. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
Debris that fell from a fire at the Marco Polo residence lays on the front lawn of the building, Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Honolulu. A fire broke out Friday afternoon in a unit on the 26th floor, where all three of the dead were found, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent, right, and several fire officials stand outside the Marco Polo residence, Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Honolulu. A deadly fire started on the 26th floor of the building and quickly spread to others killing at least three people Friday. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
With the damage of the fire nearby, a woman attempts to clean her window sill at the Marco Polo residence, Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Honolulu. A fire broke out Friday afternoon in a unit on the 26th floor, where all three of the dead were found, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said.(AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
A man looks off his balcony at the the damage left from a deadly fire that destroyed several floors of the Marco Polo residence, Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Honolulu. A fire broke out Friday afternoon in a unit on the 26th floor, where all three of the dead were found, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
A man takes pictures off of a balcony of the damage left from a deadly fire that destroyed several floors of the Marco Polo residence, Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Honolulu. A fire broke out Friday afternoon in a unit on the 26th floor, where all three of the dead were found, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
This photo shows the Marco Polo building after a fire gutted several of the top floors of the residential complex, Saturday, July 15, 2017, in Honolulu. A fire broke out Friday afternoon in a unit on the 26th floor, where all three of the dead were found, Fire Chief Manuel Neves said. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia) The Associated Press
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