Teen saves her family from house fire after COVID left them unable to smell smoke

A family in Waco, Texas nearly lost their lives on Friday after the loss of their sense of smell to coronavirus left them unable to detect a housefire.

The family was saved, however, after the one person in their household who did not have the virus was able to detect the smoke, local WESH2 reports.

Bianca Rivera, 17, was able to safely evacuate her family after she smelled the smoke at 2:00 am that morning.

"I don't really count myself as a hero," Rivera said. "I just did what anyone else would do for their own family. I just wanted to get everyone out safe and alive."

"I started smelling burnt plastic. That's when I got more alert and I ran outside of my room, I couldn't even pass the hallway because it was filled with so much smoke," she continued.

"Honestly it was just me protecting my family and getting them to (safety). It didn't matter to me if I was going to get hurt or I was going to get burned as long as I got them out safe and sound."

After safely evacuating her family, Rivera rushed back into the house in order to save the family pets.

In a tweet released after the house fire, the Waco Fire Department advised residents of the Texan city of the importance of having functioning smoke detectors.

"This family is lucky to be alive," the fire department said.

Loss of smell is one of the most common and defining symptoms of coronavirus, noted in 86 percent of mild coronavirus cases. It can take months for a person's sense of smell to return.