AMAZING STORY

Teen saves family from house fire after they lost their sense of smell from COVID-19

A Texas family who lost their sense of smell because they havecoronavirus nearly died when a fire engulfed their house and they couldn'tsmell the smoke.The only family member who didn't have the virus was17-year-old Bianca Rivera. When the teenager smelled smoke in their home inWaco early Friday, she quickly evacuated her three family members and theirfour dogs."I don't really count myself as a hero," Bianca told KWTX."I just did what anyone else would do for their own family. I just wantedto get everyone out safe and alive."

The fire broke out around 2 a.m. in the one-story house, whichwas a total loss, KWTX reported.

"Thisfamily is lucky to be alive," the Waco Fire Department tweeted."@WacoTXFire would like to remind everyone to make sure you have workingsmoke alarms in your home."

Biancasaid she first woke up her family and helped get everyone out through the backdoor."I started smelling burnt plastic. That's when I got more alert and Iran outside of my room," Bianca said. "I couldn't even pass thehallway because it was filled with so much smoke."She then went back intothe burning house to rescue the family pets."Honestly it was just meprotecting my family and getting them to (safety). It didn't matter to me if Iwas going to get hurt or I was going to get burned as long as I got them outsafe and sound, I was going to be fine," she added.

One of the most common symptoms of COVID-19 is a loss of smellor taste.

Some86% of people with mild cases of COVID-19 lose their sense of smell and tastebut recover it within six months, according to a study, published this month,of more than 2,500 patients from 18 European hospitals.

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