A KELOLAND family is out of their home just days before the holidays.  Baltic firefighters braved sub-zero temperatures early Tuesday morning to put out a fire before it destroyed a house.  The fire chief says the blaze is a cold reminder to make sure your smoke detectors are working.

When the call came in at 2:18 Tuesday morning, Baltic fire chief and full-time Sioux Falls firefighter Michael Koopman immediately knew his crew was in for a battle.

“As I left my house, I could see the smoke in the air and a little bit of a glow. When I got a little closer, I definitely could see flames coming out of the back side of the house,” Koopman said.

The family of four got out okay, but just barely, because the smoke detectors in the house did not go off.

"He had said when he got up his daughter could smell smoke, woke him up and as soon as he kind of woke up, they could hear someone knocking on the door and when they left the house, there was actually flames coming over the refrigerator,” Koopman said.

Fortunately, the burning house is just a block from the Baltic fire station and there's a hydrant right across the street.

A crew from Dell Rapids also joined the fight and quickly knocked down the flames while battling the elements. Nobody knew exactly how cold it was until a firefighter returned to the station for some equipment.

“They noticed on the TV that it was seven below zero at that point. When we got back to the station at 7 o'clock, I think the news said it was 20 below wind chill, so it was bitter cold,” Koopman said.

It was cold enough to freeze gloves instantly and cause firefighters to struggle with essential tasks like changing oxygen tanks.

"You get a light mist on your regulator or face piece and it could cause some problems,” Koopman said.

Koopman had to rotate his 25 firefighters in and out of the fire station to give both people and equipment a break from the cold.

"If they did happen to freeze up, we tried to get them inside where it was warm for a little bit, get stuff thawed out,” Koopman said.

Despite those dangers, no one was hurt. 

Koopman says a fire like this is a call to action. It's a good reminder to make sure your smoke alarms are working because this fire could have easily turned deadly.

"Quite a bit of luck involved.  They could have easily not woke up and that would have been it,” Koopman said.

The Kelly Hanson family is staying with relatives. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.