Eight companies and 30 firefighters responded, and the fire was under control by 4:26 a.m.

The resident was sleeping in the living room but was awakened by a popping sound near an air conditioner, Kane said. The home was already burning, and the man ran outside with his dog and asked neighbors to call 911.

"He was lucky to get out," Kane said. "He was lucky he was alerted."

The man's home was packed with belongings that fueled the fire, Kane said.

Fire officials estimated $150,000 in damage to the home and $50,000 to its contents.

The Red Cross was providing temporary housing and other help for the fire victim.

Investigators said they planned to investigate the fire's cause after stabilizing what was left of the structure.

Then about noon the homeowner became agitated, waved a stick at a newspaper photographer, and insisted to firefighters that he needed to go through his belongings. He refused to leave the property and was seen pacing back and forth in his back yard.

Another fire was reported at 4:10 a.m. at Hawai'i Metal Recycling in Campbell Industrial Park, Kane said. Nine companies and 40 firefighters responded to the two-alarm blaze, he said.

No one was at the business. The fire was reported by someone at a nearby business, Kane said.

The fire was under control by 4:38 a.m. and doused by 6:14 a.m.

The cause of that fire remained unknown, but responding personnel said piles of material to be recycled were on fire as was adjacent machinery, Kane said. No damage estimate was available.