Police and fire investigators today were awaiting autopsy results.

Neither police nor fire investigators are commenting publicly about the cause of the 6:30 a.m. fire at 1038 Lunalilo Home Road. However, police Lt. David Kamai said yesterday there was no initial indication of foul play.

Neighbors and friends identified the fire victims as 40-year-old Joanna Miranda and her two children, Channelle, 4, and Jasmine, 7.

The woman’s husband, Wendell Miranda, was not at home when the fire was reported.

According to police records, Joanna Miranda was reported missing last October by her husband, but the case was never investigated because she was located the same day.

The fire was concentrated in the master bedroom, and that’s where the three were found, between a mattress and dresser, according to Kamai. The door to the room was closed.

Fire officials have finished their investigation and have turned the case over to the police, who handle all fire cases that result in a death, said fire department Capt. Emmit Kane.

An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms who specializes in fire investigations was sent to the scene yesterday, said Tracy Elder, special agent in charge.

Elder said the bureau gets involved in fire investigations at the request of the police or fire departments.

The city medical examiner’s office said autopsies would be completed this afternoon.

The investigation included testing for accelerants. Police routinely look for accelerants, electrical problems or other sources of fire, Kane said. The three-bedroom, two-bath house was equipped with smoke detectors, he said.

Joanna Miranda’s husband, Wendell, was at work at the time of the fire.

Wendell Miranda was a star football player for Kaiser High School in the late 1970s.

The Miranda family had moved in just four months ago, after responding to a rental ad placed by the home’s owner, Dr. Roger Ede.

"What happened here this morning is a tragedy," Ede said yesterday. "Our hearts go out to the family and their friends."

"They were a nice family," Ede said. "The father appeared to be a hard-working fellow who took good care of his family."

The family was very quiet, said Bill Haleck, who has lived in the home next door since 1979.

"I’ve only seen them a couple of times," Haleck said.

The fire was discovered by a jogger.

Sophie Hara said she first smelled smoke as she came up Lunalilo Home Road. Then she saw dark-brown smoke pouring from the rear windows.

Hara banged on the door of the home and yelled, "Fire!"

She got no answer, so she banged on Haleck’s front door. Together, they knocked and rang the doorbell at the home while Haleck’s family called 911.

"The police asked me if I saw anything unusual," Hara said later. "I told them I hadn’t, but I was so concerned about the fire, I didn’t think about anything."

At the time, Hara didn’t know anyone was inside the house. Once firefighters arrived, she left. She said it wasn’t until hours later that she learned three people had died.

"I am so upset," Hara said. "When I think of it and that there were three people inside, and I could have helped them …"

"Maybe I should have broken down a door or a window and dragged them out. If I had only known."