Police and fire officials are investigating a blaze at a Makakilo townhouse Saturday night that neighbors say they believe was set by a resident just minutes after a violent confrontation with his wife.

The fire, which consumed the end unit of four conjoined duplex townhouses at 92-987 Makakilo Drive, was reported at 9:40 p.m. Firefighters brought it under control at 9:53 and had it extinguished by 10:26 p.m.

Robert Bishop, who lives next door to the unit, said he heard a woman screaming from the street around 9:30 p.m. When he went to investigate, he found his neighbor beating his wife on the sidewalk outside the complex. Two of the couple’s three young children were screaming and crying nearby, Bishop said.

Bishop said he intervened and brought the man back to the complex while the wife and two daughters escaped down Makakilo Drive.

Bishop’s wife, Ramona, followed the woman and two children down the hill in her car and drove them to a relative’s house in Waipahu. The couple’s third child was apparently with relatives and was not at the complex, she said.

Shortly after the husband returned to his unit, residents said they heard a loud noise similar to an explosion coming from the downstairs area.

"It wasn’t a bang or shot," said one neighbor. "It was a low boom and it shook the entire complex. It was like a car had crashed into one of the houses."

Soon after, neighbors saw smoke and flames emanating from the unit and quickly mobilized with hoses and fire extinguishers to keep the fire from spreading.

While this was going on, 17-year-old Lavandor Manning, who lives across the street, witnessed the husband walking down Makakilo Drive, stopping briefly to talk to someone at a bus stop.

Ramona Bishop said the wife told her that she had been seeking a divorce from her husband because of his ongoing drug use.

Robert Bishop said the couple had moved into the complex less than a year ago but was well known for their domestic disturbances.

"The husband didn’t work," he said. "All he did all day was blast his music and scream at the kids all day. You could hear (the children) crying all the time. People would call the police when they heard him beating the kids or beating his wife. After a while, they got tired of coming all the time."

Ramona Bishop said the husband, known to neighbors only as "T," had come to her door a couple of hours prior to the fire asking to use her phone.

"He reeked of alcohol," she said.

Police have not made any arrests in the case.

The fire investigation is ongoing and neither damage estimates nor the cause of the fire had been determined as of early this morning.