'AINAKOA — Three people were left homeless last night after fire destroyed their rented home.

No one was home at the time the fire broke out in the single-story wooden structure at 4552 Ali'i Koa street shortly after 9 p.m., officials said.

The house was engulfed in flames when the first firefighters arrived, and it took about 10 minutes to extinguish the blaze, said Fire Department spokesman Capt. Ed Kealoha.

One of the residents had left the home a short time before the flames were spotted, Kealoha said.

She was in tears last night after returning home and seeing the home destroyed.

Neighbors said a family of three had moved into the home several months ago.

No one was injured in the fire, but a pet dog suffered slight burns to his legs, Kealoha said.

Investigators late last night were trying to determine the cause of the fire, which charred much of the home's front rooms. No other homes in the area were damaged by the fire, which spread thick smoke through the neighborhood.

Officials said the family, which gathered on the street outside the home as firefighters continued to examine the building, would likely stay with friends or relatives last night.

The fire happened in a tightly packed neighborhood of older wooden homes, a couple of blocks east and mauka of Kahala Mall. A person at the mall said the smell of smoke reached the area.