The blaze that broke out at 237 Kilani Ave. in Wahiawa killed a 77-year-old woman.
Her 51-year-old son escaped with minor injuries.
The fire appeared to have started in and was confined to the kitchen, said fire investigator Glenn Solem. There were no smoke detectors in the home that could have warned the residents earlier, allowing her time to escape, said Solem.
The woman was found in the dining room with second- to third-degree burns to her hands. It appeared she may have been making her way toward the front door, but may have been disoriented or overcome by smoke, Solem said. The exact cause of her death will be determined by an autopsy. Her name is being withheld until other family members are notified.
The son told fire officials he awoke to the smell of smoke and opened his bedroom door but was stopped momentarily by intense smoke and heat. He managed to make it to his mother's bedroom but could not locate her. He found his mother's cat, threw the animal out the window and climbed out.
The woman's nephew, Daniel Escober, who lived in another house, said he and his wife awoke to neighbors yelling, "Fire, fire!"
Yesterday, a 44-year-old man escaped after a fire broke out at his Thomas Street home, also in Wahiawa. There were no smoke detectors in his home, nor were there any in the Brigham Street home where a 75-year-old woman died in a Feb. 13 fire.