Girl, 6, wakes up to alert family to fire

DEER RIVER, Minn. (AP) -- A 6-year-old who woke up to find her pillow smoldering alerted her family and helped them escape a fire that destroyed their rural Deer River home.

The Duluth News Tribune reports Kelly Nason and her three children, ages 5, 6 and 7, were asleep when the fire broke out around 1 a.m. Saturday.

Neighbor Courtney Schultz tells the newspaper the Nason family's middle child, 6-year-old Paige, discovered the fire when she woke up to find her pillow smoking. She awakened the rest of the family, and Kelly Nason got them out.

Deer River Fire Chief Steve Jurvelin says the fire was reported at 1:15 a.m. By the time firefighters arrived, the rear of the home was in flames but the family was out.

The cause has not been determined.