The heat from a fire in a Clayton home coincidentally helped keep that fire from spreading, the family said.
Cam Gosselin smelled smoke around 5:30 a.m. at his home on Satinwood Drive, he said.
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"I opened the garage door and there was thick smoke pouring out. I couldn't even see the fire through all the smoke."
Gosselin ran to rouse the rest of the family. They called 911, and everyone, including the cat, made it out safely. Clayton firefighters arrived within minutes.
Jeff Gosselin said the fire's heat contributed to their work.
"Luckily it burned through one of the water lines" in the garage, he said.
"That helped put the fire out. It was squirting water," Jeff Gosselin said.
The damage was contained to the garage and after the scare, the family was still able to celebrate Christmas.
"We're definitely blessed," said Lisa Gosselin.
The recommended that every family keep a smoke detector in the garage.
The Gosselins' was at least the third Christmas fire in Johnston County.
On Christmas Eve, two people got out safely but a home near Benson was a total loss after a fire.
And a father and son died Christmas morning in a fire along Red Oak Drive.