When 28-year-old Erika Poremski put her baby girl to bed on the second floor of their home, lightning hit the electrical box and turned all the power in their home off.
Poremski lit a candle to light the room as she contacted neighbors about their situation. But when her phone died, she went out to charge the device in her car.
As she turned her phone back on, she was horrified to see that the room where little Viviana was sleeping was on fire.
She quickly ran back into the house but curtains, couch, and carpet had already caught fire.
Poremski tried to get to Vivian but thick flames and smoke pushed her back every time. She didn’t notice that “all the skin was off my hand from grabbing the rail and it melted off.”
“I tried to keep getting in,” she expressed. “She was up the stairs, but the fire smoke was so heavy I couldn’t get past it… I kept running back out and back in, trying to get up there. Then, the door curling started falling and I couldn’t get back in.”
Neighbors also tried to kick in the doors and windows to save Viviana but all of them failed as the flames grew bigger.
“I just heard her crying and I couldn’t get to her,” Poremski expressed. “I tried really hard, everyone in the neighborhood tried. They were kicking the doors in and kicking the windows out. I couldn’t (get her out). Nobody could.”
When firefighters arrived, they found that Viviana had survived the fire thanks to their family dog, Polo.
The pooch was always protective of the girl and he knew he had to save her when the fire started. Polo covered the baby’s body with his until firefighters arrived.
Only 19 percent of Viviana’s body was burned, thanks to Polo. Sadly, the loving dog passed away after the fire. He is now being hailed a hero for his brave actions.
Baby Viviana slipped into a self-induced coma after the incident. Poremski wrote online: “So now I’m praying for a miracle from God to let my baby wake up. To let me see her smile again and be able to see and hear momma say I love you beautiful.”
Family and friends set up a GoFundMe page to pay for Viviana’s medical bills and help rebuild after their home was swallowed by fire.
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