Upon hearing a sound "like frying bacon" at about 11:15 p.m. on May 8, Dusty Ackerman got out of bed to investigate.
"I didn't know what it was, but when I got up, the whole house was on fire," he said. "So I just ran downstairs, got my kids and everyone was out and that was it."
Ackerman, his wife, their three children, aged 10, eight and five, and his mother-in-law escaped with nothing but what they were wearing as a fire ripped through the home they were renting at 52 Hawthorn Way.
Describing the fire as "an inferno," with flames "everywhere" in the bi-level home, Ackerman said he and his family just "ran for it" and escaped before the entire house was engulfed.
No one suffered any major injuries but Ackerman's mother-in-law was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation, was treated and then released.
The family also had four dogs and two cats and Ackerman said all but one cat was accounted for on the morning of May 9.
Deputy chief Brian Powell of the Olds Fire Department said the blaze started on or near a deck at the rear of the home.
When fire crews arrived, they encountered "heavy smoke venting through the roof," which was already partially collapsed, and flames at the northwest corner of the home, he added.
Because of the "aggressive nature" of the fire, Powell said, crews set up a "defensive attack" using "outside hose streams and elevated hose streams."
The last crew left the scene of the blaze just before 3 a.m.
On the morning of May 9, the home was a charred shell and gazing into its interior from an alley behind the house revealed blackened ruins where a burnt appliance or scorched piece of furniture was visible here and there.
The fire also damaged neighbouring homes to the west and east.
Karen Joyce, who lives at 56 Hawthorn Way, said she woke up to "lights" in her living room and looked out the window to see flames at the rear of Ackerman's home.
"It happened so quick. It was engulfed on the deck. It started on the deck," she said, adding she grabbed her phone and quickly left her house.
The fire heavily damaged the east wall of her home, burning off siding and part of the roof and one window was broken.
Joyce stayed with a friend for the night but was allowed to return home on the morning of May 9.
On the other side, at 48 Hawthorn Way, Robin Brooke was asleep when the fire broke out.
His wife, Ashley, is pregnant and he said the baby was restless and so she was awake.
When she heard "crackling and hissing noises," she woke Robin up and he ran to a bedroom window in time to see "just a huge blaze and fireball probably 15, 20 feet tall" erupt from a natural gas barbecue at the northwest corner of Ackerman's home.
"It was screeching, like it was loud," he said. "You watch movies and stuff and they say that the fire talks. It was vicious. It was loud. It was groaning."
So he and his wife, in a "semi-panic mode," grabbed their dog and ran outside.
Robin said he did run back into the house to find the cat and then moved his car and truck to allow firefighters plenty of room to work before retreating to a safe distance.
Siding on Robin's house was damaged from the heat and his west fence was destroyed, but he credits the Olds Fire Department and the other fire crews assisting them, as well as nature, for saving the rest of the home.
"Between the wind and the fire department, that's the only thing that kept our house standing," he said, adding he estimated the damage to his property at between $30,000 and $50,000.
Ackerman said he and his family were staying with a friend and his brother and father are assisting them and have offered to take them in until they can find a new home.
He added his children are upset at losing their possessions, but he is reminding them of how fortunate the family is to still be together to help them get through the tragedy.
"I'm telling them we're lucky to have each other still. Their toys and stuff, it's just material stuff. We can always get more stuff, right? As long as we've got each other."
Ackerman also said he did not have tenant's insurance and he estimated his family lost $30,000 in possessions.
Jen Follack, who owns the home, said she and others were already gathering gift cards for the family to allow them to buy clothes and other necessities and she and a friend set up a bank account at the Royal Bank for any one wishing to donate to the family.
Cheques can be made out in trust to Tammy and Dusty Ackerman.
She said when she learned of the fire just before midnight, she was only thinking about the family's safety.
"Honestly, I was just terrified last night driving up here," she said. "The only thing I was praying is that the family got out OK. They're not just renters, they're friends of ours. We've known them for years. I care about them deeply.”
Powell said the fire department, a provincial investigator and an insurance company are still looking into the cause of the fire.
He added the grass at the back of the home was completely destroyed and it's still unknown if the fire started in the lawn or if the grass was burnt due to the fire.
He said an early damage estimate for the fire to Ackerman's home was $400,000.
There will be a fundraiser for the Ackerman family at The Bowl bowling alley on 50 Avenue on May 16 from 3 to 10 p.m.
