Marcy Smith was woken up by her son David to find their house in Glovertown, Newfoundland and Labrador, completely engulfed in flames.
The whole family was able to escape, but their house is destroyed and their dog and cats did not make it.
Mrs Smith said if it wasn't for her son, she and her daughter probably wouldn't have survived.
David was on FaceTime to his father at the time, so was the only one awake and saw the flames out of the corner of his eye.
"Within seconds of him getting us up, the flames were everywhere," Mrs Smith told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
"It happened so fast. We were standing in the kitchen by the wood stove and the flames just ate around me and David. The entire kitchen just disappeared while we were standing in it."
She said the fire was started by some rubbish she burned in the wood stove, something she had done "a thousand times" before. The fire alarm did not go off.
The family had nothing but pyjamas on when they fled, but Mrs Smith said the community has rallied behind them, donating clothes and shoes and even a bike for her son.
"All he understands is that me and his sister and him got out. He does not understand that he is the only reason we did," she said.
"He did a huge thing for such a young boy. I am so proud of him and I am going to tell him for the rest of his life until he understands what a big thing he did."

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Long's 170kg lift with his last attempt in the clean and jerk saw him grab gold from London 2012 champion Om Yun-Chol of North Korea, who lifted 303kg.
Thailand's Sinphet Kruaithong took the bronze medal at the Riocentro Pavilion 2 with 289kg.
In the snatch segment, Beijing 2008 winner Long matched the 16-year-old Olympic record of 137kg.
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The 12-year old was snatched by the crocodile while swimming with friends in a water hole in Kakadu National Park, in the Northern Territory.
Rangers said neither of the two crocodiles appeared to be the attacker, and that the search would continue.
Another boy was also mauled by the crocodile, but managed to escape.
Australian police searched overnight for the crocodile and the seized boy.
They said that two crocodiles, one measuring 4.3m (14ft) and the other 4.7m (15ft), had been shot and examined in the course of their search.
"We've since had a look at both crocodiles and neither of them had anything in their stomachs," Sergeant Stephen Constable said.
"We're going to continue the search today," he added.
Officials say visitors are warned not to swim in Kakadu's watering holes because of the risk of crocodile attacks.
Saltwater crocodiles can grow up 7m (23ft) long and weigh more than a tonne. They are a common feature of Australia's tropical north.
In August, a man was killed by a crocodile as he swam in a river in the north during a birthday party.
An 11-year-old Canadian boy saved his whole family from a devastating fire, his mother says.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
China's Long Qingquan lifted a combined world record of 307kg to win Olympic gold in the men's 56kg weightlifting.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Australian police have shot two crocodiles dead in a search for a missing 12-year-old boy attacked by a crocodile on Sunday.