It was likely the best Christmas present a Petrolia family received.

Tim Williams, the public fire prevention officer at the Petrolia/North Enniskillen Fire Department, says a mom and her three young children were able to get out of their Petrolia home Monday when their dryer caught fire.

Williams says two of the family’s five children had already headed to school and there were clothes in the dryer when the mother smelled something. She opened the door to the laundry room and the smoke detector went off. They called the fire department and got out of the house safely.

Williams says the family had just received the smoke detector in December, one of 385 families who received new smoke/C02 detectors with their Christmas for Everyone boxes. Williams says the department teamed up with the organization to distribute the alarms purchased with the help of Shell Canada, Lambton Mutual Insurance and Hydro One.

He added it was good see that the family had appreciated and installed the detectors and that it did what it was supposed to do.

“It may have been the best Christmas gift ever,” he said.