Four generations of the Ka­hoo­pii family, whose Kaneohe house for 50 years or so was heavily damaged Friday morning, received an outpouring of neighborly love.

Some quietly handed 81-year-old widower Ralph Ka­hoo­pii envelopes containing money.

Others came with hugs, kind words and offers of help, while others brought plates of food and clothing, searched for the Ka­hoo­piis’ dogs and cared for their children.

"This neighborhood has the best neighbors ever," said granddaughter Loke­lani Correa, whose husband had been renovating the home. "They came out in numbers when my grandma died; they came in numbers today. Not only during tragedies, but celebrations, too."

She said neighbors contacted other family members and told them to come and help the Ka­hoo­piis.

Nine family members were displaced, and the seven who were home managed to escape from the burning house.

Fire investigators will continue today to determine the cause of the 9:08 a.m. fire at 46-112 Aeloa St. in the Crown Terrace subdivision near Windward Mall. Capt. Terry Seelig said the damage was estimated at $375,000. Two were hospitalized in serious condition, Emergency Medical Services said.

Tina Ramil, 41, brought a warm, dry shirt for Ka­hoo­pii after a heavy downpour.

"We’ve known them all our life," said Ramil, who brought over a canopy and helped with the children. "We’re really close to them. He has helped us a lot when we were younger. I’d do anything for them. They’re a nice family."

Kahoopii said the fire started in a back bedroom belonging to his great-grandchildren, ages 5 and 1.

Everyone, except for his two older great-grandsons, who were at school, was at home at the time that the fire broke out.

Kahoopii, his daughter, granddaughter, her husband and three children, and their four dogs managed to escape.

The family huddled under canopies in the driveway of their badly damaged home as family, neighbors and friends arrived.

"The main thing, nobody got hurt," Ka­hoo­pii said.

However, Kahoopii’s daughter, Linda, 58, who has a tracheotomy tube and uses oxygen, was hospitalized for smoke inhalation, family members said. His granddaughter’s husband, Rob DeSoto, was also hospitalized for a broken rib and exposure to smoke.

DeSoto tried to go back into the house to rescue the family’s dogs, which got out on their own and later showed up, family members said.

Granddaughter Michelle DeSoto’s dog Kahi warned her of the fire by scratching to get out, Correa said.

The 32-year-old said she made sure she saved her grandmother’s ashes and precious photos of her.

Kahoopii lamented the loss not of any specific material things, "just the memories of the house."

"We no longer have a house," DeSoto told someone on the phone.

Family members will be split up for now, staying with neighbors and other family members.

Because he wants to stay close to his house, Ka­hoo­pii and his great-granddaughter, Serenity, 9, who are inseparable, and his three dogs will stay with backyard neighbor Rob Duvoisin (whose name in French happens to mean "of the neighbor").

Duvoisin, who brought over plates of food and juice, joked Ka­hoo­pii will have to pay rent in the form of "pulling weeds."

Correa’s husband, Earl, managed to find Ka­hoo­pii’s gold retirement watch in the rubble.

Kahoopii said while working as a heavy-equipment operator in 1963, he made the lots for the subdivision, and shortly afterward bought the three- bedroom home for his family on a corner lot. The family enclosed the patio, which later became a bedroom.

He noted the single-wall redwood home burned quickly.

But Kahoopii maintained a peaceful demeanor, saying, "I been through a lot already."

DeSoto’s eyes welled with tears as her older sons arrived home from school. It was their second fire. The first, nearly a decade ago, struck their Kailua apartment when the boys were young.

Elijah Kahoopii, 13, said he was 4 and remembers.

Isaiah Kahoopii, 12, said he could see the flames from his school, King Intermediate. When he saw the blackened remains, he said he wondered, "Why did it have to be our house?"

The boys’ friends arrived, shocked to see the badly charred house where they would regularly congregate, and took turns shaking their hands.

The 81-year-old patriarch remained positive. "It’s just a little setback," he said. "We’ll be up and running soon."