Scary video shows overnight fire burn quickly toward a sleeping girl in Missouri home

A fire quickly spread at a Missouri home as a young girl asleep on a sofa nearly didn’t wake up in time to escape, video shows.

The house fire started just after midnight Sunday on the porch of a Joplin home, according to the Joplin Fire Department. As the fire spread on the porch, the girl kept sleeping on a sofa in the living room.

Soon the fire, driven by the wind, burned into the home and the girl started coughing. The fast-burning blaze blocked the front door and stairwell.

“This family was in real danger of being trapped and/or overcome by smoke and fire due to how quickly it was advancing,” the fire department wrote on Facebook. “It took just a few seconds to become a free burning fire that had blocked the stairwell and front exit.”

Then the smoke alarms starting beeping, which woke up the child. She escaped out back door of the home with the rest of her family.

“If the alarm had not sounded it is possible that the family would not have have had time to escape to safety,” fire officials said.

A police officer patrolling the neighborhood was first to arrive on scene, and he rushed inside the home to ensure everyone was safe, video shows.

No one was injured.

“The video we obtained from this fire drives home the importance of equipping your home with smoke alarms, developing escape plans with your family in the event of a fire, and also how quickly a fire can spread,” fire officials said.