A fire that heavily damaged the Butigroove clothing store on Pi'ikoi Street early yesterday morning was deliberately set, fire officials said.

The blaze was reported at 1:19 a.m. at the corner of Pi'ikoi and Kona streets. Firefighters brought the fire under control in seven minutes and extinguished it at 1:39 a.m., said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig.

Although the fire was put down relatively quickly, it caused significant damage, Seelig said.

"It was a small fire, however, it's a small area," he said. "The fire was just starting to roll and the guys knocked it down pretty quick."

Damage was estimated at $20,000 to the building and $75,000 to its contents. The fire investigator determined that the blaze was intentionally set and turned the case over to police.

Brian Sabate, Butigroove owner, said he started receiving calls from friends that his store was on fire. He said he got to the scene just as firefighters had put out the flames.

But Sabate said there was major smoke, water and fire damage to the inside of his store, as well as to the inventory. Butigroove carries "local clothing," including a popular line of Barack Obama T-shirts and apparel.

"We lost a lot of inventory," Sabate said.

He said that it appears that someone threw something through a window that fronts Kona Street and started the fire. Sabate said he has no idea who would have wanted to do such a thing.

"We were doing good, that's probably why people don't like us," he said. "But, hey, we've got to keep going."

Sabate said he isn't sure how long the store will be closed. He said his four employees likely will be temporarily transferred to his other company, a wholesale silk-screening business.

Sabate added that yesterday's fire wasn't the first case of vandalism since he opened the store about two years ago.

"We've been hit a lot. This street is bad because of the nightclubs and the drunken people," Sabate said. "This is my fourth incident: broken windows, pissing, vomiting, crapping. But this is the most serious."