A Winnipeg single mother is desperate for help after her family lost everything in a house fire.

Gathered around a hotel room watching holiday movies, Candyce Pelletier and her six children don’t know where they will wake up on Christmas morning.

"It's hard. Like, it's six days before Christmas,” said Pelletier.

The family was not able to save anything from the house after the fire on Friday afternoon.

“Nothing,” said Pelletier. “My son didn't even have his shoes on when they went outside."

The children range in age from four to 15 and on Friday afternoon, the older kids looked after the younger ones while their mom went to a medical appointment.

That’s when the youngest got his hands on a lighter and accidentally started the fire.

Instead of calling 911, the children called a family friend who raced over to the house.

"I told them get the heck out of there,” said Henry Cyr, who arrived before the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service. “We tried to go in there because there's a little cat in there, but the smoke was too bad for us."

There were no serious injuries although the children were treated for smoke inhalation.

The Lipton Street rental home is uninhabitable and the family had no rental insurance.

The family can stay in their hotel room for the next couple of days, but beyond that they don’t know where they will go.

"We've been trying to help her look for a suitable apartment, or house that she can rent,” said Mary Ann Funk, who has known the family for about four years.

Funk works with Living Bible Explorers, a Christian charity that works with children in the city’s core.

The organization has begun collecting donations of food, clothing and cash to help the family meet their immediate needs.

"I was right away really shocked and devastated for her,” said Funk. “I know she's been struggling, and so it's just another thing on top of a lot of heartache."

Pelletier worries if she can’t find a home soon, her family might be split up for the holidays.

"It's hard enough just to buy them their winter stuff and their clothes they need,” she said with tears streaming down her face. “And then to be this close to Christmas and then have this happen? It's even worse."

Anyone interested in donating to the family’s recovery can contact Living Bible Explorers at (204) 786-8667.