KAILUA — Mary Warner isn't sure what caused her to wake up early yesterday morning, but whatever it was, she's thankful.

She and her family escaped without injury after a fire started in a bedroom, causing $25,000 in damage to the room. The fire started when a small fan clipped to the top of a bunk bed short-circuited, fire officials said yesterday.

"When I woke up I could kind of see flames in the back of the house," Warner said while standing on the street with neighbors as firefighters made sure the blaze was extinguished. Warner said she smelled smoke. Fortunately, she said, the kids were in her room, where they had been sleeping.

She went to the kids' bedroom and saw flames in it and closed the door.

"No one was in that bedroom, thank God," she said. "That bedroom was black."

Warner said her four children have all belonged to Scout troops, so they practice fire drills at home "hundreds of times."

When a fire broke out in her home yesterday morning, she said the children knew exactly what to do.

"We closed the door, got out safely, went to a neighbor's house and called 911."

The fire occurred around 5 a.m. at 217 'Aikapa St. It took Kailua firefighters two minutes to respond to the call. Within the next three minutes, the fire was deemed under control.

Honolulu Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said the Warners' fire drills paid off.

"From their training at school and in the Scouts, the family knew what to do," Seelig said. "When they saw flames, they closed the door to the room, got out safely, made sure everyone was accounted for and called 911. They had a plan.

"We encourage everyone to do that."

Reach Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.