WILHELMINA RISE — Two homes were destroyed when a fire broke out in one and spread to the other yesterday morning on Mariposa Drive, fire officials said.

The fire was reported at 8:09 a.m. Six engines and two ladder trucks got to the scene five minutes later. The blaze was under control at 8:52 a.m.

Billowing smoke could be seen as far away as the University of Hawai'i-Manoa campus.

Three people escaped without injury from 3802 Mariposa Drive, where the fire may have started. No one was home in the two-story house above at 3804 Mariposa Drive, which also was destroyed.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said damage estimates were not released yesterday.

Sisters Kelly and Jaime Ferreira had moved into 3802 Mariposa Drive a month ago.

They were sleeping when the fire alarm in the three-bedroom home went off.

"I'm just so thankful," said Kelly Ferreira, 29, who runs Mad Science of Hawaii, a science-based education program for kids, with her 23-year-old sister. "I just feel so guilty that the house burned down and it affected another house."

She said when she opened her bedroom door, she could see flames as high as the ceiling in the living room. She also saw flames along the kitchen counter, where only a telephone was plugged into an outlet.

Ferreira exited through the front door and suffered minor smoke inhalation, she said.

Her sister and a friend, Anthony Moore, escaped through the back door.

She was concerned about fire reaching some of the science kits stored in the garage.

"It's amazing how quickly firefighters move when you tell them there's ethanol downstairs," she said.

Honolulu paramedics took a 34-year-old male firefighter to Straub Hospital and Clinic in serious but stable condition after he suffered heat exhaustion and dehydration, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city's emergency services department.

Volunteers with the American Red Cross were helping both families affected by the fire regarding food, shelter and clothing. Red Cross caseworkers will continue to work with the families as they recover from the loss.

Andrew Mitchell, 24, of Albany, N.Y., was watching TV in the living room of a friend's house on Mariposa Drive when he spotted the fire next door.

He quickly called 911 from his cell phone and ran outside to help.

By the time he got up the driveway of the first house, he saw the occupants fleeing the burning home.

"I saw the flames, but I didn't smell smoke at first," Mitchell said. "By the time I got out, the top floor (of the house next door) was engulfed in flames."

Burrell and Charlotte Kingsley live next door to the two destroyed homes on Mariposa Drive.

They were just getting out of bed when firefighters told them to evacuate their home.

"We were making the beds," said Charlotte Kingsley, 77. "We didn't even get dressed."

The fire had spread to their backyard and may have damaged some trees and injured two lovebirds left in their cage on the back porch.

The Kingsleys escaped with their 2-year-old shih-tzu, Clyde. Their daughter and son-in-law were not at home when the fire broke out next door.

"You could see the flames coming up on the side of the house there," said Burrell Kingsley, 83, wearing a blue bathrobe.

Added his wife: "You know it's upsetting to think you could lose everything you own."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.