An Albert Lea man said Sunday he is grateful he and his family are alive after a fire destroyed their home on Pillsbury Avenue the night before.

Multiple fire departments battled the blaze at 515 Pillsbury Ave. in below zero temperatures after Garth Conklyn and two children escaped from the burning home.

The fire has been ruled undetermined accidental, according to the Albert Lea Fire Department.

Conklyn said he was with his son Balto, 5, and who he described as his nonbiological daughter, Aaliyah, 9, shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday when he went from his bedroom into the basement to change some laundry.

In what he described as “less than a few minutes,” the girl came frantically running down the stairs saying it smelled like plastic. It was getting smoky on the main level.

At the same time, Conklyn said he could see an orange glow coming from the vent to his bedroom above, and he knew they had to get out of the house.

After quickly turning off the hot water heater and the gas on the furnace, Conklyn said he ran upstairs, and there was thick smoke everywhere. The door on his bedroom was turning from gray to black, and the smoke was starting to turn black.

He guided the children wrapped in blankets to the back door and sent them out of the house.

“None of them had socks or shoes on, but there was literally no time to get any of that stuff,” said Conklyn, who was wearing a tank top and shorts when the fire started.

At one point, he said he realized the family’s rabbit, Flippers, was still inside.

“I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t go back in,” he said. “I ran back in there. It was pure adrenaline. By this time, fire was shooting out my door four or five feet.”

He said he remembers being disoriented and a little confused, but somehow he managed to get to the rabbit and make his way through the smoke with the family pet out of the house.

He singed the ends of his long hair, along with some of the hair on his hands and arms.

Two fish perished in the fire.

Conklyn said once they were out of the house, the family stayed with neighbors as firefighters battled the blaze.

The home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived and was brought under control in about 15 minutes, according to the Fire Department.

Firefighters remained on the scene for about three hours looking for extension of the fire throughout the home and because of bitterly cold temperatures, the Glenville and Hayward fire departments sent in four firefighters to assist.

According to the Fire Department, estimated damage was $30,000.

The fire reportedly started on the bottom shelf of a nightstand next to a bed in the northeast corner of the home.

Conklyn said he thinks the fire started with a scented wax warmer, but that has not been verified.

He has had the house since May 2014 and was purchasing it on a contract for deed.

Conklyn said despite losing his home and belongings, he is determined to stay positive.

“It’s just stuff,” he said. “Everything I cared about I got out of the house.”

The Albert Lea Salvation Army was called in to assist the firefighters, and the American Red Cross assisted the family with housing after the fire.

A GoFundMe account has been created to help the family athttps://www.gofundme.com/6ajrny98.