Lela Minute was on the phone with the electric company trying to settle her bills when a fire started shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday.

    She sent her family outside and found her frightened 10-year-old grandson behind the house on the hill.

She believes he may have started the fire playing with fireworks.

“;That would be the only thing I can think of,”; she said.

Shortly after 3 p.m. yesterday, a two-alarm fire destroyed the seven-bedroom, single-story house at 95-125 Waimakua Drive in Waipio Acres. Damage was estimated at $450,000.

About 40 firefighters fought the blaze, bringing it under control in about 20 minutes and saving a house next door from damage.

Minute sustained an injury to her right forearm when flames jumped out as she reached for the garden hose to fight the fire. No one else was injured.

Minute was preparing her home yesterday for a visit from her cousin, who came from Samoa for hospital care in Hawaii and had just checked out.

She just completed repairs to the house, changing the carpets and flooring, after water entered the house last month and damaged it.

The Red Cross was helping the family with emergency needs.

Tamasailau Minute, who lives in the house, was driving home from work on a hill above her house when her cousin called and said her house was on fire.

“;I seen the smoke and it was black,”; she said. “;I was thinking about my kids.”;

When she got home, the back of the house was already in flames, sending up a tall black cloud of smoke.

Seventeen people, all family members, lived in the house, she said.

“;I thank God that it's only material, it's all replaceable,”; she said.

Four dogs also made it out of the house, but she was not sure what happened to the two cats.

Parked in the middle of the street amid fire engines was an orange Roberts Hawaii school bus. The driver of the bus, Deroy Minute, 26, was ending his shift when a co-worker radioed him and told him his house was on fire.

“;I started crying from that time on to now,”; he said. “;It's terrible. I don't even know where we're going to go now.”;

Duke Ota came from his house down the street and tried to help.

He saw flames coming from a window on the roof and engulfing the back side of the house. He stood on his son's roof next door and sprayed water from a hose, but the fire was too large. “;I was really worried,”; he said.

Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig said the single-walled wooden house with corrugated metal roofing was built sometime around 1960. The house had an addition in the back that also burned down.

According to city records, another Hawaii resident owns the land.

Firefighters are still investigating the fire's cause.