A two-alarm fire damaged a home and injured two women Sunday in Palolo.

The fire, which started at about 10:40 a.m., began on the upper floor of a two-story house at 3449 Paa­lea St. and was visible through a second-floor window when firefighters arrived.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze before it spread beyond the upper floor, but the lower floor sustained some water damage, firefighters said.

Altogether, 19 residents were displaced and were being assisted by the Red Cross, said Fire Department spokes­man Capt. James Todd.

One neighbor, who gave his name as Bo, said he could see smoke coming from the space between the air conditioner and a second-floor window frame. A little while later he could see a fire behind the air conditioner.

Dean Ross, who lived in the home for 15 years, was at McDonald’s at the time of the fire and arrived to see firetrucks blocking his street.

"I didn’t think it was our house," said Ross, who lived in the home with his wife, adult daughter and two other people.

"We think it was maybe something electrical," he said.

Ross said one tenant smelled smoke upstairs and grabbed a fire extinguisher to try to put out the fire. The flames, however, continued to grow, and the man grabbed an outdoor water hose to put out the flames, but the hose was too short, Ross said.

Three people who were home at the time made it out of the house.

Paramedics said a 36-year-old woman was taken to a hospital with slight burns to her leg, and a 52-year-old woman was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Both were in serious condition.

"I didn’t expect anything like this," Ross said. "I’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do."

The damage estimate was $225,000 to the structure, $25,000 to the contents and $1,000 to an adjacent building, Todd said. The cause was under investigation.