A mother in Abbotsford is thanking two Good Samaritans for rushing to her aid when she returned home to find her house on fire Wednesday morning.

"I came home and opened my door and black smoke started billowing down the street," said Amanda Jackson, the mother who rents a beige slatted home near McKenzie and Marshall roads.

She said she grabbed her infant son out of the car and started yelling for her pets that were still inside.

That's when Jacques West and Rodford Duncan passed by in their truck. They were heading to an appointment, and thought the smoke might be a bonfire until they heard Jackson yelling.

"We jumped out of our truck and she said 'My house is on fire. We need help,’" Rodford said.

"She was frantic," West said. "She had no idea what to do. She gave us the cats, gave us the dog."

One of the brave men ran inside the home to rescue Jackson's remaining cat, which was still covered in soot hours later.

"He didn't even have a phone but he ran in and saved my cat," Jackson said.

They also grabbed a rope from inside the home to try and tow Jackson's car from the driveway. Duncan said he didn't want the gas in its tank to ignite.

Once firefighters arrived, they were able to douse the flames quickly. They even pulled Jackson's pet rabbit from the home.

"He's made it out happy and safe," said assistant chief Jeff Snider who held the bunny in a small box.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Jackson said the home had no heat since December. She'd been using a couple of space heaters to keep the family warm, and wondered if those may have sparked the fire.

Her landlord did not respond to CTV News' request for comment on Wednesday.

"It's sad," Jackson said. "I just lost everything I have and my son just lost everything he had and it could have been prevented if my landlord had fixed my heat three months ago like he was supposed to."

Jackson is still waiting to get back inside to see what's left of her home. She is now searching for new accommodations.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Scott Roberts