By Adam Hammer, Tribune staff writer

Albert Lea firefighters battled for five hours hours to extinguish a blaze that destroyed the Reule family home at 3019 Lake Chapeau Drive Friday afternoon.

&8220;We’ve both worked so hard our entire lives and now everything we own is gone,&8221; Chris Reule said.

The cause of the fire had not yet been determined as of Saturday afternoon, Albert Lea Fire Department Capt. Lee DeVries said.

Chris, her husband, Ron, and their children Janelle, Megan and Alex, lived in the ranch-style one-story home with a basement and an attached two-car garage in a fairly new subdivision of Albert Lea. They moved in on New Year’s Day after relocating from Washington state. Their oldest son, Ryan, is in Pullman, Wash., as a student at Washington State University.

None of them was inside at the time of the fire, though there were concerns that Alex was in the home when the call came through to the fire department. That set off a search of the burning house for the child.

The family’s two dogs were inside the house when the fire started and did not make it out.

Janelle and Megan discovered the fire when they came home for lunch around 1 p.m. Friday afternoon. When they opened the garage door, smoke rolled out, Janelle said.

&8220;My first thought was that our brother was in the house,&8221; she said.

Megan ran around to the back of the house and tried to kick in a window. Janelle called 911 on her cell phone.

Alex, 11, stayed home sick from school Friday, but luckily his mother had taken him to get a candy bar, Chris Reule said. They returned home less than an hour later to find smoke billowing out of the house with two fire department crews and several police officers and emergency personell working to extinguish the flames.

&8220;Everything was fine when we left,&8221; Chris said. &8220;What happened? We didn’t cook anything today, I didn’t even turn the toaster on.&8221;

About a month ago, the Reules’ remaining belongings from Washington state were delivered to their Albert Lea home. Most of the boxes had not yet been unpacked.

&8220;It’s just been one thing bad luck after another,&8221; Chris said. &8220;This was supposed to be a fresh start.&8221;

This isn’t the first occurance of hard luck the Reules have encountered in the last year, Chris said. In June, she and her husband were hit by a deer while riding their Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The motorcycle was pulled from the garage before Friday’s fire collapsed the roof.

The roof collapsing caused the main floor to collapse into the basement. The home had been burning for more than an hour at that point. Ron still hadn’t been contacted at the Hormel plant in Austin, where he works.

&8220;We’re just grateful that no one was hurt,&8221; Albert Lea Police Chief Dwaine Winkels said.

Freeborn County Red Cross Chapter Manager Jeanie Opdahl responded to the scene to tend to the needs of the family. The Freeborn County Red Cross responds to all house fires in the county.

Opdahl got the family a hotel room for the night and also offered food, clothing and comfort kits for all members of the family. Alex was still in his pajamas.

The Red Cross will continue to give the family a place to stay for two or three days or until some other arrangements have been made, Opdahl said. The Albert Lea Tribune will report on where to send donations to assist the family once a system is set up.

The Reule family doesn’t have any relatives in the Albert Lea area. Their closest family is in Northfield.

&8220;Today was heartbreaking,&8221; Updahl said. &8220;They were new to the community and lost everything they had except what they had on their backs.&8221;

The fire reminded Winkels of the importance for all families to have an escape plan in case of a fire and to make sure all smoke detectors in the home are functional.

&8220;You see this stuff on TV all the time, but you never think it’s going to happen to you,&8221; Janelle said.