Randy Painchaud is feeling blessed after his family escaped an early morning house fire in southwest Edmonton unscathed.
He says his wife, two children and a friend made it out with minutes to spare.
"I think if we were [to wake up] another four minutes later, there was a good possibility I could have lost one of my kids and we probably wouldn't have made it out of the house," Painchaud said Wednesday in front of the charred remains of his home.
"I'm just really happy we were able to get everybody out."
The glass was breaking at that point in the window and it was just starting to crawl inside the house.- Randy Painchaud
The fire engulfed two homes and damaged three more on Melrose Crescent in the neighbourhood of MacEwan early Wednesday.
The fire call came in at 2:35 a.m.
Six crews got it under control shortly before 4 a.m.
Investigators have determined the fire was started by a cigarette butt discarded in a backyard planter, said Edmonton Fire Rescue Capt. Kevin Bureau.
"We've had a lot of poorly discarded cigarette butts cause a lot of fires," Bureau said. We get this every year and it just needs to be known that you do not put your cigarette out in a potted plant."
To date this year there have been 46 fires related to smoker's materials in Edmonton, with an estimated $5.3 million in property loss.
In 2017, there were 63 fires related to smoker's materials for an estimated $3.5 million in property loss. In 2016 there were 88 fires related to smoker's materials, with an estimated $5.4 million in property loss.
'We were panicking'
Painchaud spent much of the morning talking to his insurance adjuster, who was on scene to assess the damage.
"The upstairs is pretty much gone. The roof is gone. The neighbour's house, I know his floor caved in," Painchaud said.
"The front door is gone. The back door is melted into a pile of plastic on the floor."
Painchaud said he was sleeping upstairs when he awoke around 2:30 a.m. to the wail of the smoke detector, and the sound of shattering glass.
His wife Shelby went out into the hallway to investigate and check on their young son and daughter.
"The glass was breaking at that point in the window and it was just starting to crawl inside the house."
Painchaud said he tried to extinguish the flames with a wet towel but quickly realized the fire was too powerful.
With the help of their friend who had been sleeping in the basement, they wrapped up the children in blankets and ran outside — just as the fire began to spread to the neighbouring home.
They called 911 and started frantically banging on the door.
"We couldn't get hold of him so we were panicking," Painchaud said.
The neighbour woke up to the fire coming through his bedroom window and managed to escape just as fire crews arrived on scene, Painchaud said.
Nearby homes seriously damaged
Painchaud said his family moved into the home in September. They lost a bundle of cash they had been saving up for a family vacation, his wife's wedding ring and some treasured family photos.
He doubts the house can be saved.
Heavy equipment will be brought in late Wednesday morning to demolish the most heavily damaged property.
Three neighbouring properties also sustained heat damage in the fire, Filipovic said.
Investigators have determined that the total damages for the all properties affected by the fire is $1.3 million.