Kennison Tejada, a Fire Department spokesman, said a fire company was sent to the Plumeria Hale condominium at 2630 Kapiolani Blvd. about 12:50 a.m. to investigate a "smell of smoke" report.

"When they got there, they could see smoke coming out from under a door on the 19th floor and flames broke out a few minutes later," Tejada said.

He said the fire destroyed about 80 percent of Apartment 1902. Three men in their early 20s reside at that unit but none was home at the time, Tejada said.

The apartment directly above sustained substantial smoke damage, he said. The three men who live in that unit escaped.

"All of them were home when the fire broke out but one of them was awake and managed to wake up the other two and get them out safely," Tejada said.

The Honolulu chapter of the Red Cross is assisting those displaced by the blaze.

Firefighters from McCully, Manoa, Waikiki, Kaimuki and Pawa'a battled the blaze. Fire Department records show the fire was brought under control at 1:12 a.m. and at 1:39 a.m. was declared extinguished.

A dollar estimate of the damage was not immediately available. Investigators were to return to the building this morning to try to determine what caused the fire.

Tejada said a few of the residents complained to firefighters that they tried to sound the building's pull-alarm but could not remove a plastic lid covering the alarm handles.

A cover was finally removed and the alarm was sounded about five to eight minutes after firefighters arrived at the scene. Tejada said.

"We evacuated the 18th, 19th and 20th floors as a precaution," Tejada said.