A 12-year-old girl is being praised for ensuring that her entire family survived a fire that engulfed their Virginia home.

At around 4:30 a.m. local time on March 7, Allison Escobar Gallo woke up to the smell of smoke in her family’s home in the 900 block of Virginia Avenue in Harrisonburg, local news outlet WHSV reported.

Allison quickly rushed out of bed in search of where the smoke was coming from and alerted her parents.

“I left my room, I was trying to figure out where it was coming from,” she told WHSV. “I looked everywhere and then I noticed that more smoke was coming out of the basement.”

12-Year-Old Girl’s Quick Thinking Saved Her Family from an Early Morning House Fire

Firefighters fight fire at Virginia home on March 7, 2026.Go Fund Me

Allison continued, “I touched the handle with the back of my hand to test and it was pretty hot. So I ran to my parents’ room and then I woke them up.”

The home, which had a single functioning smoke alarm, was occupied by two adults and three children at the time of the fire, the Harrisonburg Fire Department said in a news release.

Allison helped the family of five and several pets escape the property before the blaze spread.

“Instead of panicking, I was just focused on waking everyone up and getting out the house,” Allison told WHSV.

Noel Ayala Gallo, Allison’s older brother, told the outlet that he’s “very grateful” her quick thinking prevented any of the family members from being trapped in the fire.

Erin Stehle, lieutenant of the Harrisonburg Fire Department, has taught children, including Allison, how to stay calm during a fire for years.

“It was just this like a whole full circle moment,” Stehle told WHSV. “It was just so incredible to hear that one working smoke alarm woke that child up. They got their entire family out and instead of having five fatalities, we have five people that lived.”

12-Year-Old Girl’s Quick Thinking Saved Her Family from an Early Morning House Fire

Allison Escobar Gallo’s family.Go Fund Me

She warns that there is an increased risk of dying in a fire compared to the 1980s.

“We have to be smarter as a community, as just anybody that is responsible for people or yourself,” Stehle concluded.

The Harrisonburg Fire Marshal office has determined the cause of the house fire to be unintentional with the area of origin being a basement bedroom, according to the fire department’s news release.

“This little girl saved her family,” said HFD Fire Chief Matthew Tobia. “Coupled with a functioning smoke alarm, the life safety education programs that our Community Risk Reduction team delivers in our schools is critical. This incident highlights the indispensable role that our CRR team plays in saving lives.”

The exact cause of the house fire can’t be determined due to the “extensive damage,” while preliminary damage estimates have been set at approximately $75,000 to the home and contents, said the fire department.

Noel revealed that many of their family’s items were destroyed in the fire and aren’t covered by insurance. A fundraiser has been launched to help them rebuild.

“My siblings are asking every day, ‘When can we go back home? When can we get back to normal?’ It’s definitely a traumatic experience,” Noel told WHSV.