A house fire that affected three homes in Okotoks early Saturday morning could have resulted in multiple fatalities if not for a man heading out to go hunting.

Deputy Fire Chief Danny Freeman says the first call came in at 4 a.m.

One home was totally destroyed with the fire starting on the large back deck, so the smoke alarms inside didn't go off.

The passerby awakened a young man sleeping on the couch who then got his parents out of bed from the basement just in time.

There were two more people in the house to the west who got out before the roof of their home collapsed or Deputy Chief Freeman says there could have been more fatalities there.

Freeman feels the wind pushed the fire to the east where a house on that side sustained damage to the exterior.

So far there's no official cause or damage estimate.

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