Brianna Coppens still isn't sure what caused her to wake up at 3:30 a.m. in the Fort Qu'Appelle home she shares with her grandparents, but she knows that instinct saved the family's life.

"I don't know how I woke up, I don't know why I woke up. But if I didn't wake up, I don't know if we'd still be here," she said on Sunday, hours after a fire destroyed her grandparents' home.

It's been a long, hard year for her grandparents, whom the 22-year-old called her "best friends." Just weeks ago, her grandmother finished her last round of chemotherapy for cancer and was feeling healthy and good about the future, Coppens said.

"They were finally happy — beautiful home, beautiful town," she said. "To watch their life just go up in flames within minutes is probably the most devastating thing I've ever seen."

Darrel and Sandy Gelowitz moved to Fort Qu'Appelle from Regina less than two years ago, along with their granddaughter. The house had been destroyed once before by fire just three years ago, but had been rebuilt anew, a dream home for the family.

On Sunday, the house would experience its second devastating fire, which firefighters believe began in the garage.

An early Sunday morning fire in the town of Fort Qu'Appelle destroyed Darrel and Sandy Gelowitz's home. (Brianna Coppens/Submitted photo)

Coppens woke up and noticed a glowing from her bedroom door, on the other side of the house.

"I was in a daze. I rolled out of bed and walked down the hall," she said. "It seemed like a long time, but I think it was seconds, before I realized, 'There's a fire.'"

She found a pair of pants to throw on, shouted and shook her grandparents until they woke up, and grabbed her dog while she called 911 to report the fire.

The family rushed out the door, with Coppens turning around to look at the back. The curtains had already started to melt, and she began shoving her grandmother out the door.

"I looked back and I just started screaming, 'Run. Get out now!'" she recalled.

"The windows blew in just as we were going outside."

The fire destroyed the family's home, garage and a truck that was parked outside. All the occupants, including three members of the family, their dog and cat survived. (Brianna Coppens/Submitted photo)

Coppens ran and banged on a neighbours' door until they let the family in, giving them blankets and water, as well as shoes and clothes to wear.

The Fort Qu'Appelle fire department responded within minutes, and were able to bring the fire under control and put it out over the next couple of hours, according to the volunteer department's fire chief, David Sabirsh.

"We're glad everyone got out safe. Contents can be replaced, lives can't," he said.

After a fire destroyed their home, Brianna Coppens told her grandfather, Darrel Gelowitz, how glad she was he was still alive. (Brianna Coppens/Submitted photo)

Coppens said she was thankful for the fire department's work, and the fact firefighters were able to save a few personal effects such as photos, a guitar in her grandfather's room, and her late grandmother's Bible, which she was amazed to see escape the fire completely unscathed.

The shock and sadness of her grandparents weighed heavily on her, as she said she felt helpless on how to help them. But she also felt relief they survived the fire, saying she couldn't imagine living without them.

"For all of us to make it out of the house, with like a second to spare, I don't know how this happened. I don't know how we're still alive. But I'm thankful my grandparents are still here."