A Middle Sackville, N.S., family says they’re still in shock days after losing all their belongings in an apartment fire that displaced about 180 people.

Sharlene MacDonald says she was just falling asleep early Monday morning when she heard a popping noise, followed by her neighbours yelling.

She says she then realized her apartment was on fire, and her family had just five minutes to evacuate with the clothes on their back.

“When I woke the boys up, they looked out the window and they could see the flames coming from the apartment next to us and we tried to get the pets and they ran and we couldn’t we couldn’t save them,” she said.

Sharlene, along with her husband, Matt, and their son, Harvey, were forced to exit through the building’s parking garage because the closest emergency exit was covered in debris.

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“There was debris falling from above. We had to cover our faces after the second floor for some of the smoke,” said Matt.

Minutes later, they were outside — watching flames engulf the apartment they were sleeping in just minutes before.

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“Maybe 10 minutes after the fact, we could see it going over onto our side and it was burning down our side of the apartment,” said Matt.

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The apartment fire on Hanwell Drive forced about 180 people in 64 units out of their homes.

The MacDonalds say they’re happy everyone is safe, but are devastated to have lost their bunny, Akela, and kitten, Leopold, in the fire.

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“Still questioning whether what’s real, because it still doesn’t feel like, you know, the pets are gone. It still doesn’t feel like my apartment is gone, and it doesn’t like my possessions are gone,” said Matt.

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A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family rebuild and has raised nearly $8,000.

“People have been kind enough to donate some clothes to our whole family. And then the insurance things and contacting our work. Both of our employers have been amazing and so understanding,” said Sharlene.

The family is now living with family in Truro and say their former landlord is helping them find a new apartment.

They say the community support has made a big difference.

“It’s just incredible. I can’t even quantify how I feel about it,” said Sharlene.

The municipality confirmed no one was hurt in the fire and the cause is still under investigation.

The property was released to the building owner Tuesday, and firefighters were on scene to help residents recover possessions where it was safe to do so.

However, the union confirmed that crews had to return to the scene Wednesday night for a flare-up when on-site security noticed some flames.

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