Firefighters outside the fire hall spotted black smoke rising on the horizon at about 2:30 and received a number of calls about the fire moments later, said deputy fire chief Mike Lowing.

When they arrived at the scene at 486 Range Lake Road, smoke and flames were coming out of the windows and rising from the roof of Unit 9.

"The fire started in the master bedroom upstairs and started to spread out the window and to the eaves, then to the roof," Lowing said.

No one was injured in the fire that Lowing said could have been worse had it happened at night or if it was windy.

The fire had quickly moved through the roof and wind could have swept the flames from roof to roof.

One neighbor who lives less than 10 metres from the burning house, said that he didn't know there was a fire until the fire trucks came and there was flames bursting out of the top floor window.

Lowing said that there were four occupants of the home, three adults and a little boy. No one was injured, although the rescue of some pets proved problematic.

"We also went in there to get out two ferrets and a cat," he said. "I went in there but I couldn't get the cat to come out. We had to call in our pet expert Sandy McPhee and he got the cat to come out."

An initial estimate on the damage stands at about $60,000 for the building and $20,000 for contents.