AVON - A condo fire in Colorado's high country may have cost a family their lives if not for the heroic efforts of a 9-year-old girl.
The fire broke out over the weekend in Avon, destroying the condo where the De Leon family from Douglas County was staying.
Nine-year-old Taylor first noticed something was wrong. Instead of panicking, she calmly let her whole family know and they were able to get out of the condo safely.
The fire broke out early Sunday morning in the bathroom next to the room Taylor was sleeping in.
For an unknown reason, the smoke detectors in the condo did not go off and most of the family was sleeping as the flames grew.
Taylor says she woke up and heard crackling noises behind the bathroom door and noticed it was glowing.
When she saw the flames, she woke up her mother, father, grandmother and her brothers and sisters.
"I ran across the hall to wake up my grandmother and she came in to grab my sister and we woke everybody," Taylor said.
The family grabbed some clothes, their dogs and cats, and headed outside to let the rest of the neighborhood know.
The fire ended up gutting several rooms of the condo.
"Three minutes, even five minutes later I'd be telling you a different story right now and I probably wouldn't be able to compose myself," Rob De Leon, Taylor's father, said.
The fire caused about $75,000 in damage.
Taylor says she is upset she lost her favorite sweater in the fire.
The family stayed in a hotel the rest of the time they were in Avon and returned to Highlands Ranch on Monday night.
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