WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) — A family in Warren is counting their blessings after a fire destroyed their home late Wednesday night.

The fire occurred around 11 p.m. Wednesday on the 500 block of Freeman Street.

Despite Warren firefighters’ efforts, the house was a complete loss, leaving the family without a home.

But one man went above and beyond to ensure the safety of the home’s occupants.

Colton Trent and his fiancé Sarah Bower live up the street from the house that caught fire. They were walking their dogs when they heard children screaming, “Fire!”

“It looked just pretty much like a big bonfire at the moment,” Trent said. “I hopped in the car and drove over here as fast as I could. The three little children were outside at the front of the house.”

Trent says when the kids told him their sister and mom were trapped upstairs, he ran to find a way into the burning house.

“Soon as I got to the bottom of the steps, something exploded in the trash dumpster,” Trent said. “I took off running into the house to see if there was any way to the top through the actual main house.”

He couldn’t find a way up from inside. When he got out of the house, a police officer had arrived on scene. They followed the screams to the back of the house.

“Thankfully, one of the neighbors had a ladder that we were able to use. I held the ladder while the cop climbed the ladder and we were able to talk the mom and the oldest daughter down,” Trent said.

Trent says his instinct was to make sure everyone left the house alive.

“I don’t want to see a kid be without a parent and I don’t want to see a parent without a kid,” Trent said. “That’s all I was thinking, was just, ‘Get everybody out.’ I didn’t care if I was put at risk or not, I just wanted everybody out.”

Trent comes from a family of service members, so he didn’t think twice about jumping in to save the family.

“If I can change something, then why not do it?” Trent said. “So much of our world today is people judging other people and violence and everything … Why not do something good?”

Everyone made it out of the house safely, but they are still searching for their pets.