An Abbotsford, B.C., mother managed to pull her three children from their burning house Thursday afternoon, moments before it was engulfed in flames.

The mother, Michelle Rheubottom, told CBC News she was alone in the home on Pineview Avenue, when she heard the screams of her two-year-old daughter, Ayla.

"I walked into the bedroom and half the bed was on fire. Flames were leaping up the walls, so the walls were beginning to catch. The pillows were just in flames," she said.

Rheubottom said her mind went blank in terror at first and then she sprung into action, rushing through the house, collecting Ayla, and her two other daughters — an infant, and a five-year-old.

"The only thing was save the kids. Get out! Get out! Get out of the house," she said.

But Ayla got away.

"[She] didn't quite understand — she tried to go in the backyard," said Rheubottom.

So she took the two children out the front door, and ran back into the burning home for the third.

Fortunately, she found the child and managed to get everyone out before flames engulfed the home.

Fire guts home

Neighbour John Sarkozy said the mother and children were frantic as they watched the fire fill their rented home

"The little girl was crying that her cats were inside, so I tried to see if I could get the cats to come out, but I was unsuccessful in that," he said.

"The amount of smoke billowing out of the house was growing at a very rapid rate, and in very short order, the propane tank in the back exploded, and that really got things rolling."

Firefighters were able to stop the flames from spreading to adjacent homes, but not to save the family home.

Rheubottom's husband, Rob, was called by neighbours and he rushed home unsure of his family's safety.

"I ran red lights. By that time, I had four phone calls and nobody knew where they were," he said.

He arrived in time to see the family home gutted by flames, but his family safely outside.

Everything lost

The family says they have lost almost everything they own and are now staying in a hotel while they look for a place to rent.

"They've lost everything," said Sarkozy, "They did not have any insurance. The mother didn't even have any shoes, so [a] neighbour gave her shoes."

He's hoping people will donate, once a fund is set up.

"If there is anything anyone could do for them that would be awesome, because they don't have anything right now," he said.

Abbotsford fire officials are investigating and blame an unattended cigarette for the fire.

The family returned to check out the damage on Friday morning and managed to find all three cats were safe.

And despite the loss of almost everything the family owns, they said they were thankful for what they still have — their children.

"Whatever, it's just a house. It's just things. They can be replaced. These can't," Michelle Rheubottom said of her daughters