Nine people were displaced when a fire destroyed a five-bedroom, two-story Kalihi house Wednesday afternoon, but no one was home at the time of the blaze.
Firefighters rescued a small dog from inside the home at 1759 Kealia Drive, Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Keoki Kaalele said.
Damage was estimated at $300,000 to the structure and $100,000 to its contents.
Red Cross is assisting the residents.
Neighbors sprayed water from garden hoses to try to douse the flames that consumed the house in the close-knit neighborhood, after checking for any occupants inside.
Next-door neighbor Christopher Paguyo told his brother: “Break the fence down and see if someone is home. They broke the fence down and went upstairs, but nobody was home.”
He then ran to the back and started shooting water, while his brother tried to fight the fire from another side of the house. “Next thing you know, the back side was all engulfed already. Lucky nobody was hurt. That’s the main thing. God bless.”
Thirty-nine firefighters responded to the 1:12 p.m. alarm.
The first unit was on scene in six minutes and discovered the dwelling fully involved in fire, HFD said in a news release.
They made an interior attack and brought the fire under control at 1:36 p.m. and extinguished it at 2:31 p.m.
The fire remains under investigation, and a cause has not yet been determined. No one was injured.
HFD said the home had no working smoke alarms and no fire sprinklers.