A fire investigator is looking for the cause of a two-alarm fire that gutted a single-family home last night in Ewa Beach, displacing a family of eight.

Seven people, including four children, were home when the fire started at about 7:10 p.m. at 91-265 Makalauna Place, said Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig. 

Family members and neighbors called firefighters before the family escaped without injury from the three-bedroom home, Seelig said. 

The first company reported heavy smoke and flames coming out of the front of the house from the first floor and moving to the second level. About 35 firefighters brought the blaze under control by 7:25 p.m. and extinguished it by 8:30 p.m., Seelig said. 

When firefighters first arrived, the family said four dogs were still inside, and firefighters opened a side door allowing the dogs to run out unharmed.

Seelig said the family planned to stay overnight with friends. 

The fire caused about $400,000 in damage to the two-story home and the contents. A house next door and a car parked next to the home also sustained about $1,000 in combined damage.