WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. -- Three Wheat Ridge firefighters narrowly escaped unharmed when a room erupted into an inferno on Saturday evening.

The Wheat Ridge Fire Department received a 911 call at 5:30 p.m. about smoke noticed at a house located at 6855 W 33rd Avenue.

Officers were examining the home when one of the bedrooms burst into flames.

"They were searching the bedroom and they experienced a flashover in that room, which is very dangerous and potentially life threatening," said Micki Trost, West Metro Fire Department spokeswoman. "At that point, they called a mayday and were initially trapped in that room."

Trost explained a flashover as a point when the temperature in a room reaches a high enough point that everything combusts. Trost added it became so hot that the window in the room blew out.

"Firefighters had to jump out of a bedroom window after it broke," Trost said.

Homeowner Ruth Nagy said she was home with her family when they smelled smoke. They searched for the source of the odor to no avail. That is when she got her kids out and to a neighbor's house and called the fire department.

Nagy said two of the family cats are missing. However their dogs made it out safely.

Trost said firefighters don't know what caused the fire.