Texas Toddler Saves Family From Fire at Home who Couldn't Smell Smoke Due to COVID

'We had seconds [to escape]. It's nothing short of a miracle,' Little Brandon's father, Nathan Dahl said.

A Texas toddler saved his family moments before their home was consumed by fire. Nathan and Kayla Dahl were able to escape the fire just in the nick of time with their five children including 2-year-old Brandon, who woke up his parents saying ' Momma hot! Momma hot!'

"He saved our entire family. He is our little mini hero," Kayla told WFAA 8 News of the January 15 fire at their home in Alvord, located about an hour northwest of Dallas. Nathan and Kayla had lost their sense of smell because of COVID, so they couldn't detect smoke when it started filling the house. On top of it, none of the smoke detectors in the house went off.

Nathan added that they had 'brand new' less than a year old smoke alarms installed in their house but none of them went off. "We had seconds. It's nothing short of a miracle," he said. Luckily, Nathan is a volunteer with the Alvord Fire Department, who had prepared his family on how to act in the event of a fire.

Brandon Dahl
Brandon Dahl Screen grab - WFAA

The fire was ignited by a gas heater

Officials have reason to believe that the fire was ignited by a gas heater, which was placed in the room Brandon was sleeping. When the fire started to spread, the little boy woke up, walked out of the flames, and went to his parents' bedroom, coughing all the while. He woke his mom around 4:30 am.

'Fire! Fire! Fire!'

Describing the incident, Kayla Dahl said that when Bradon woke her up, she saw flames coming out of their living into the bedroom. She then started screaming 'Fire! Fire! Fire!' and woke her husband, Nathan.

The family of seven miraculously escaped the fire without burns or smoke injuries, apart from some singed hairs on Brandon's head.

The January 15 fire completely leveled the Dahl family's home
The January 15 fire completely leveled the Dahl family's home Screen grab - WFAA
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