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By BRITTON BROUN

Stuff.co.nz - Wellington,New Zealand

Christmas may be ruined but Tony Haydock does not care - he is just happy his twin daughters are alive.

Mr Haydock and his wife Kim were woken about 2am yesterday by what they thought was their burglar alarm, but they soon discovered the roof of their Palmerston North home was in flames.

Mr Haydock's first thought was to check on daughters Paige and Demi, 9, who were asleep in their upstairs bedrooms.

"You could see flames through the down lights and the girls' rooms were very smoky. There was a layer of smoke sitting just above Paige's head; it was terrifying seeing that. I grabbed the girls and ran out.

"If it wasn't for the smoke alarm they would be dead. I'll be preaching about those alarms for the rest of my life."

Sifting through their waterlogged home yesterday, Mr Haydock said it could have been a lot worse.

"I don't feel anything for the house - six months from now it will be back up to scratch. I'm just so relieved the girls are all right."

Once the family were safely down the driveway, Mr Haydock returned to get a photo album and, at Paige's insistence, his mother-in-law's ashes.

Mrs Haydock - who lost her mother suddenly in December 2005 - was still recoiling from the shock of the fire.

"It couldn't have come at a worse time. It's my mother's second anniversary and we're still getting over that," she said.

Paige and Demi were "pretty scared" but uninjured and still eagerly awaiting Christmas Day.

Their tree and presents had been saved by firefighters, and though Christmas would not be at home this year, the girls had a summer holiday at Foxton Beach to look forward to.

Twenty firefighters battled the blaze for more than 90 minutes to bring it under control.

Palmerston North fire chief Rodger Calder said the fire alarm had saved the family's lives.