A young Cape Breton couple and their newborn son were forced to the streets after their home went up in flames on Saturday.
Fire officials say the blaze started around 1 p.m. in Victoria Mines.
“The original call was a hot tub on fire on the exterior of the home, but very close to the residence," said Deputy Chief Andrew Petrie.
The flames quickly spread from the hot tub to the home, where the family was watching television in the living room.
“They heard a bang and when they looked outside, they saw the flames shooting from the area of the hot tub,” said Petrie. “It was only about ten feet from the door … so I would say there would be some flames that they would've had to go through to get out."
Petrie says they had to do that with a 10-month-old baby in their arms.
While everyone made it out uninjured, the heartbreaking scene remains. The baby's stroller, diapers and other personal items are amongst the charred rubble.
The family's two cats made it out thanks to the help of firefighters.
"(The cats) weren't doing too good at first, so two of our members gave them some oxygen and they're doing great now," said Petrie.
Petrie says some of the flames shot directly from the hot tub into the baby boy's nursery. Much of what was inside the nursery has been destroyed.
Donations are already pouring in.
"Some of the (firefighters) who just had babies recently, they gathered some stuff up and ran it up to them,” said Petrie. “Just kind of to help them get through the day."
The Red Cross is putting the family up in a hotel for now and is providing the couple and their baby with everyday items to get by.
There won’t be an investigation, as it appears the hot tub was the cause.
"We were able to determine that the fire did start exactly at that location and we determined it was accidental at that time," said Petrie.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.
