A Texas family suffering from COVID-19 nearly died in a house fire on Sunday -- because authorities say they couldn't smell the smoke...
In fact, Waco firefighters say the Rivera family certainly would have perished in the blaze had it not been for 17-year-old Bianca Rivera. As the only member of the family who hasn't contracted the virus, she was thankfully able to smell the smoke and wake the rest of her family up before the ultimate tragedy struck.
"I started smelling burnt plastic," she says. "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. And I knew I had to wake everyone up."
Their entire home ended up burning to the ground. And although authorities are hailing Rivera as a hero, the teen says she's nothing of the sort...
"I don't really count myself as a hero," she says. "I just did what anyone would else would do for their own family. I just wanted to get everyone out safe and alive."
The Rivera family told local reporters that they're now staying in a motel and receiving help from the Red Cross.
Read the full story on CBS 21 News.