Mike Burns was working on his laptop computer on a seventh-floor recreation deck of a Waikiki high-rise last night when he caught a whiff of trouble.

"It smelled funny, like something burning," said Burns, a visitor from Anchorage, Alaska.

It turned out to be a fire on the open-air deck of the Royal Kuhio Condominium, a vacation time-share building at 2240 Kuhio Ave.

The 8:25 p.m. three-alarm fire prompted the evacuation of the 26-story tower and the closure of several streets, including Royal Hawaiian and Seaside avenues.

Burns recalled: "I looked up and saw two other people with the security guard and looking all around. I jumped up and saw the fire in the northwest corner area (of the recreation deck) where they had construction materials.

"The fire was 8 or 9 feet high, maybe 6 or 7 feet wide. It was flowing continuously so I knew something was feeding it. I heard them say call 911 so I went back up to get my wife."

The building's fire alarm went off 15 to 20 seconds later, he said. Eight companies responded to the fire, which was declared under control at 8:45 p.m.

A firefighter suffered a finger injury and a woman reported breathing problems related to the evacuation rather than the smoke. They were treated by city Emergency Medical Services personnel and taken to Straub Clinic & Hospital. No other injuries were reported.

Police closed Kuhio Avenue between Royal Hawaiian and Seaside avenues for about 90 minutes.

As firefighters mopped up, Mary Jo Burns and Barbara Conrady of Garden Grove, Calif., were seated on a bench on Kuhio Avenue, talking about walking down 26 floors from their time-share units.

Fire Department spokesman Capt. Earle Kealoha said a hazardous materials unit was checking 5-gallon containers on the seventh floor.

The Royal Kuhio is a time-share condo advertised extensively online as a hotel-like vacation accommodation.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.