CHANDLER -- A Chandler mother and her six children are homeless after flames ripped through their trailer home early Wednesday morning.

Mom called a hero

Firefighters were called out to Arizona Avenue and McQueen Road at about 2 a.m.

The mother woke up when she smelled smoke. She saw that her curtains were burning and realized what was happening in time to get her six kids outside to safety.

"She was sleeping with three kids in her bedroom and she got those three kids out, and the other three kids out in their bedroom," said Capt. Andy Hauser of the Chandler Fire Department.

According to the children's aunt, the mother lost track of her 4-year-old daughter at one point and had to go back inside the burning trailer.

"She couldn't see anything because of all the smoke, so what she did she just started banging on windows so all the smoke could come out," said Yesenia Herrera, the mother's sister. "She couldn't see anything well until she heard the baby maybe crying in the living room."

The entire family was taken to the burn unit at Maricopa County Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries and smoke inhalation. The mom and all six kids -- four girls and two boys, ranging in age from 2 to 12 -- are expected to be fine.

While the mobile home was destroyed, crews managed to contain the flames to just that home.

Firefighters believe the fire started in an air-conditioning unit. They said the family was especially lucky because there were no smoke detectors in the home.