A Manitoba family is lucky to be alive following a devastating fire Wednesday morning.

Lane Christensen, 19, was playing video games at his home on Dundee Garson Road in the RM of Springfield when he smelled smoke. While the home had smoke detectors, Christenson said he had noticed the smell before they went off.Teen

He left his bedroom to investigate, and went to the sunroom at the edge of the house.

Christensen saw smoke, and when he opened the door, flames.

“My first instinct was to run and get my mom up,” said Christensen.

He rushed back to wake his mother Lori, who was fast asleep in her room.

“I literally fell on the floor,” said Lori Christensen.

She says initially she thought she and her son might be able to put the fire out themselves.

But they quickly discovered that was impossible.

“Thinking about it now, we suspect it was already in the walls,” she said.

With smoke now beginning to fill the house, Lori and Lane Christensen then tried to get out of the house. But this too, would prove to be a challenge.

The front door wouldn’t open, so they crawled out of the dining room window.

Lori didn’t even have socks on, but she had somehow managed to grab her purse on the way out. The two went to her vehicle to warm up and call for help.

Chief of Springfield Fire and Rescue Jeff Hudson says the house was well involved with flames by the time the fire department arrived.

Hudson says their investigation has determined the fire was caused by a space heater, plugged into the wall in the sunroom.

“It could have been a malfunction of the unit. We don’t know,” said Hudson.

The house is a complete loss.

Lori and Lane Christensen say they’re just relieved they were able to get out safely.