BOSTON -- A Danvers family is crediting a dog with alerting them to a fire that destroyed their home.

NewsCenter 5's Jim Boyd reported that the fire first broke out Monday night, but flared up again Tuesday morning, destroying the house.

"The dog wouldn't stop barking and I heard noise, weird noise and then I thought it was thunder and lighting at first and finally I got the courage to open the door and smoke came pouring in," said Melissa Christie-Potorski.

Christie-Potorski said she grabbed her son and ran from the house. She said her roommate's Yorkshire terrier saved their lives.

"I would have just gone to bed," she said. "If it wasn't for Nikko, I don’t think we would have gotten out."

The dog, rescued by firefighters, is now staying with neighbors.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.