Questions and concern remain about the cause and victims of Tuesday’s fire that left one person dead and two injured in Manoa.

Around 4:25 a.m. Tuesday, Honolulu Fire Department officials said they received a call for a building fire at the 3500 block of Manoa Road. Ten HFD units with 38 firefighters responded at 4:34 a.m. to find a two-story home engulfed in flames, according to a news release.

When they arrived, HFD said firefighters found two elderly people, one of whom was transferred to Emergency Medical Services for treatment, and the other who died from injuries.

The home’s next-door neighbor, an elderly woman, also was transferred to EMS for medical care at 4:52 a.m., HFD said.

EMS said paramedics treated a woman in her 70s who suffered cardiac arrest during the house fire but officials said, “EMS was able to get a pulse back and the patient was then transported to a local ER in critical condition.”

Another woman, in her 90s, refused to be taken to the hospital, officials said.

However, it is currently unknown which among the injured were in the house that caught fire or the house next door.

Their identities, along with the cause of the fire, are still unknown as HFD officials said the investigation is ongoing.

Rick Bergstrom, 66, lives across the street from 3566 Manoa Road. Bergstrom, who called the police at 4:25 a.m., said that he awoke to “super loud” sounds similar to glass plates breaking, followed by intense popping noises.

Bergstrom said his wife, Noriko Bergstrom, 44, is a deep sleeper and even she was woken up by the commotion.

Rick Bergstrom ran outside to find flames rising from the back corner of the house.

“It was like a big poof,” Rick Bergstrom said. “There was just massive flames.”

He and about five other neighbors quickly ran across the street, banging on the doors of the blazing home and the one next door, since Bergstrom said he knows a petite elderly woman lives there.

“I was just yelling, ‘There’s a fire! Get out!’” Bergstrom said.

No one from either home responded to Bergstrom and his neighbors’ urgent calls, though, and he said HFD arrived shortly after.

Noriko Bergstrom said as she watched the scene from across the road, she could feel the radiating heat, but said she was not concerned about having to evacuate since HFD came so quickly.

The fire was fully extinguished by 5:30 a.m., HFD said.

Despite Rick Bergstrom living in the area for 25 years, and Noriko for nine, the couple said they did not personally know the residents of the now-burned property and said whoever lives there are kind, quiet and keep to themselves.

The Manoa neighborhood, with its old homes and close proximity to neighbors, poses fire concerns for Rick Bergstrom, who said he tries to be vigilant about fire hazards in his home.

“You know these old homes, they just go up in flames like that,” Bergstrom said.

Later Tuesday morning at around 6 a.m. HFD responded to another house fire at a two-story home in Kalihi, but no one was injured.

The deadly Tuesday fire, however, again highlights the issue of fatal house fires on Oahu.

In January, 25-year-old firefighter Jeffrey Fiala died while conducting a search-and-rescue operation at a two-story apartment fire in McCully, which was later found to be caused by “unattended cooking” in the resident’s kitchen.

HFD Capt. Jaimie Song said in a statement that Tuesday’s fire is a reminder for the community to install and test smoke alarms in their homes, make and practice fire escape plans and “close before you doze.”

“A closed door can slow the spread of fire, reduce toxic smoke levels, improve oxygen levels, and decrease temperatures dramatically,” Song said. “That could make a life-saving difference in your home.”