"I thought like I was going to die," Watkins said. "She said, 'Mom, our house was on fire.' She said, 'They're OK, they're outside and OK.' But I didn't feel comfortable."

Watkins was in tears as she recounted the long flight home and the taxi ride to her home. There, the building's manager told her that her children were safe and staying at a hotel.

"The first thing I did was rush to see that they were OK. I hugged them and I didn't want to let go," Watkins said.

The Watkins family was one of five who lived in the two-story apartment at 2344 Date St. in McCully. The 2:56 a.m. fire destroyed or heavily damaged the five units and left 25 people homeless.

An elderly woman was treated for smoke inhalation and another woman, who lived in an adjacent building, suffered scrapes on her arm as she was helped from a second-floor ledge to safety.

Investigators determined that the fire started in a first-floor unit and probably was caused by an unattended cigarette, said fire spokesman Capt. Emmit Kane. Damage was estimated at $300,000 to the building and its contents, he said.

Three units were on the first floor and two apartments, which housed eight children, were on the second floor. Luckily, Kane said, no one was killed or seriously injured.

"Given the fact that most — if not all — of the residents were sleeping when the fire broke out, things could have been a lot worse," Kane said.

The American Red Cross yesterday helped the families with temporary housing and clothing.

Lata Vanisi was asleep with her husband, Puna, in their second-floor apartment when a woman downstairs yelled to get out. The Vanisis live in an apartment just a few yards from the building that was on fire.

Lata Vanisi said she looked out her front door, but quickly realized her escape route was blocked because her car, which was parked at the foot of the stairs, was on fire.

"We were thinking, 'No way we can come down,' " she said.

The couple rushed to the diamond-head side of the apartment, broke through a screen window and Lata Vanisi was lowered by her husband into the arms of another man. Although safe, she did suffer scrapes on her arm.

"I'm very lucky," she said.

Fred and Betty Ito were lucky because their bottom-level apartment suffered only smoke damage. The couple, who had lived there for 47 years, returned yesterday afternoon to pack some clothes and possessions.

Fred Ito said they were awakened by "yelling and jumping" from the Watkins home. "I thought they were fighting," he said.

But Ito said he looked out a window and saw smoke and realized their building was on fire.

"I picked up the phone and tried to call 911, but the wires were all cut off already," he said. "I told my wife 'Get out of here' and we just ran out."

The Itos and other families were placed by the American Red Cross last night at the Pagoda Hotel.

"I've been up since 3 this morning," Ito said. "I just want to go to the Pagoda, take a shower, and call it a day."