10-Year-Old Long Island Girl Saves Family From Raging Fire

VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A 10-year-old girl on Long Island somehow managed to save her family from a fire.

Diana Loveras and her father, Alex, returned to their gutted Valley Stream home Tuesday, barely able to comprehend how the family escaped the raging flames, CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported.

"The fire went too quickly, so even the smoke detector wasn't able to work," Alex said. "But thank god for my hero daughter."

It was 6:30 a.m. when the fifth grader was awakened by intense heat.

Her father was at work as a school custodian.

She shook her mother, little brother and sister, and as the smoke became blinding, she struggled to find their home phone.

"My mom dialed 911 and since she doesn't really speak English, while my brother and sister were getting out through a window, I told the fireman that our house was on fire. I told them my name, how old I was, where I lived," Diana said.

Valley Stream fire officials and Nassau County dispatchers were stunned by the calm maturity on the other end of the emergency call.

"I was more proud of a young person so confident in what she did. It was pretty cool," firefighter Gene O'Brien said. "There's no doubt in my mind, if it wasn't for her actions, the fire probably could have turned out pretty tragic."

Officials instructed her on how to help get everyone out safely.

"My mom opened the window and my brother crawled out first since he was the youngest, then my sister, then me, then my mom grabbed some blankets off the bed because it was cold," Diana said.

The family waited in the driveway as the flames roared out windows, and the fire department arrived.

"My dad and my mom -- they told me to always remain calm in case there is an emergency, and if anything happened, something really bad, that we should always stick together," the 10-year-old explained.

The fire department reached out to the mayor and Diana's teachers to arrange a thank you ceremony when she returns to school later this week.

The family was treated for smoke inhalation and dizziness.