A man is lucky to be alive after a fire in a Braemar Drive home.

Moncton Fire were called to the two-storey residence at around 3 am Wednesday.

Platoon Chief Brian McDonald says when they arrived, they found heavy smoke pouring from the second floor and attic.

“The resident had closed his bedroom door, which he normally did not do. A fire started on the second floor where he was sleeping, and the noise from the fire woke him up. He opened his bedroom door, realized there was a serious fire on his floor, and managed to escape,” McDonald told our newsroom.

The man suffered minor injuries and was treated by Ambulance New Brunswick paramedics. He was also assisted by the Canadian Red Cross.

McDonald added that the home did not have smoke detectors.

“It is a good practice to have smoke detectors in each of your rooms and certainly on each level of your home, at the very least. In new homes, code requires that they’re hardwired on each floor. It’s up to the individual if they choose to put a smoke detector in each of their sleeping areas, but there has to be one by code outside sleeping areas on every floor,” McDonald stressed.

He also stated that the practice of sleeping with a closed bedroom door is a good fire safety practice.

Twelve to 15 firefighters helped to battle the blaze in the home.

“It was a cold evening. It was actually minus 15 outside. So it always presents a bigger challenge for us. We’re using water to fight fires. All our gear, our gloves, everything gets wet, and it can quickly get very cold. So we try to practice rotating crews, having spare clothing on scene,” McDonald explained.

Codiac RCMP, Ambulance New Brunswick and NB Power were also on scene.

The residence is extensively damaged.

Fire investigators are trying to determine the cause.