An early-morning fire yesterday destroyed an older, single-story home in St. Louis Heights.

Two residents — a man who appeared to be in his mid- to late 30s and a woman who appeared to be in her mid-60s — escaped from the home with minor injuries, officials said.

Neighbors identified them as Barbara Sala and her son Derek.

The two were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and minor burns and initially declined to go to a hospital, officials said. The woman was later persuaded to go to Straub Clinic and Hospital, Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig said.

Damage was estimated at $350,000 to the structure and its contents. The cause remained under investigation yesterday.

The two-alarm fire at 1567 Bertram St. was reported at 6:29 a.m. and declared under control by 7:10 a.m., Seelig said.

The house was engulfed in flames when the first firefighters arrived, but the two residents had already made their way out. Firefighters rescued a pet dog from the burning building, Seelig said.

The woman told firefighters she woke up, smelled smoke, went to investigate and saw flames and smoke coming from an area near the front of the house, See--lig said. The mother then woke her son and the two were able to get out of the burning house, Seelig said.

There was no fire damage to adjacent homes.

Firefighters had a difficult time extinguishing the fire because of the amount of combustible material stacked inside, Seelig said.

The charred remains were still smoldering at about 9:15 a.m. as firefighters stood inside what had been the living room area, sifting through chest-high stacks of material, tossing burned clothes, books and other items out through a blackened window frame.

Other flammable material stored in the attic caused flames to flare up a second time at about 8 a.m., Seelig said.

"Firefighters' efforts to completely extinguish the fire were complicated by several things," Seelig said. "The aluminum roof kept the fire inside the structure and kept it concentrated in the large accumulation of materials stored in the attic."

The man who lived in the house works at a shooting gallery in Waikíkí and told firefighters that ammunition was stored in the house, Seelig said.

"We talked to the chief and he wanted to make sure the fire was sufficiently cooled down before firefighters went in (in order) to minimize the potential danger from exploding ammunition," Seelig said.

Jolene Christopherson, who lives across the street, said she had "a front row seat" to the blaze.

"At 6:30, I woke up to the sound of breaking glass and I thought someone was wrestling with our recycling bin," Christopherson said. "Then I heard someone holler and my husband said to call 911."

When she finally looked out the window, she saw the neighbors' house on fire.

"The whole thing was in flames. The flames were shooting way above the house," Christopherson said.

"When I came out of the house, I saw Barbara's car shooting out of the driveway. Her son's car was parked in front of the house during the fire. He couldn't find the keys."

Hawaii Red Cross workers arrived at the still-smoking scene to offer assistance to the Salas should any be needed.