JAMESTOWN, N.C. (WGHP) — A Jamestown family is feeling grateful after a loss caused by a fire that destroyed nearly everything they own.

Six people and two dogs escaped when their home caught on fire.

It was a normal Friday afternoon on July 15 for the Smith family at their home on Gunsmith Court in Jamestown where they’ve lived for eight years.

“Our whole family was raised here. A lot of memories we worked hard for,” Shanna Smith said.

It took less than three minutes for those memories to up in flames.

“Our world kind of changed,” she said.

Shanna, her five children and two dogs were inside the home around 1:30 p.m. when she heard a loud noise.

She says she was eating lunch in the kitchen with her kids when she smelled a chemical smell.

She opened this garage door and was met by flames.

With her 7-year-old son Brody by her side, she yelled to him to get the family dogs, a 3-year-old lab and a 2- month-old puppy, out of the house.

That’s exactly what Brody did. He ran to his neighbor’s house for safety as his mother got the rest of his siblings outside.

“By the time we got out the door, the whole house had been engulfed in flames.” Shanna said, “I am so proud of Brody. I don’t know a lot of 7-year-olds that wouldn’t kind of cling to you when you see a fire because he saw it. He did exactly what I told him to do.”

The family returned to their former home Tuesday more than a week after the fire. It saddens them to see all their possessions lost, but they’re thankful to have each other

“If it had happened any other time or any other way, we would have had a different outcome. I think God orchestrated it for us all to be where we were so we can get out,” Shanna said.

Fire investigators say the fire could have started with faulty electrical wires, but the official cause has not been determined.

Right now, the family is staying with friends until they can find another place to call home.

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family to recover their losses.