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- A 17-year-old from Waco, Texas has saved her family, all of whom have lost their sense of smell due to COVID-19, from a house fire.
- Bianca Rivera said she smelt something burning around 2am and alerted the family who escaped unscathed, KWTX reported.
- The family left with only the clothes on their back and Bianca also managed to get their four dogs out of the house and to safety.
- They are now staying in a motel until they can find alternative accommodation and are currently being helped by the Red Cross, KWXT reported. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
- At least half of those with coronavirus lose their sense of smell for several weeks, a condition called ansomnia which is also common with other viruses, according to the British Medical Journal.
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A 17-year-old girl from Waco, Texas, has saved her family, all 3 of whom have their sense of smell due to COVID-19, from a house fire.
According to KWTX, Bianca Rivera said that she smelt something burning around 2am and alerted the family, who escaped unscathed.
Bianca told KWTX: “I started smelling burnt plastic and that’s when I got more alert and ran outside of my room and I couldn’t even pass the hallway because it was filled with so much smoke.
“I knew I had to wake everyone up. I opened the back door and I got everyone out one by one,” she continued.
At least half of those with coronavirus lose their sense of smell for several weeks, a condition called ansomnia, which is also common with other viruses, according to the British Medical Journal.
The family left with only the clothes on their back and Bianca also managed to get their four dogs out of the house and to safety.
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A tweet from the Waco Fire Department said that its units began arriving at the scene at 3am local time on Friday and that the home was "heavily involved in fire" and its "exposures [were] threatened."
In a later tweet, the department added that the three with COVID-19 owe their lives to Bianca and said: "This family is lucky to be alive."
Bianca also told KWXT: "I don't really count myself as a hero. I would just do whatever anyone else would do for their own family. I just wanted to get everyone else safe and alive."
The family is now staying in a motel until they can find alternative accommodation and are currently being helped by the Red Cross, KWXT reported. The cause of the fire is not yet known.