She woke up around midnight unable to breathe and realized that her Washington home was engulfed in thick smoke.
“It was really hot already, even though it was on the opposite side of the house,” the 33-year-old mother told PEOPLE. “I just knew I had to get out.”
She grabbed her two youngest children, Vinnie, 4, and Rosalie, 2, under each arm and ran them outside to safety. She then ran back in for her 8-year-old daughter Gianna. Angel’s boyfriend, who is the children’s father, was not home at the time.
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Source: Angel Fiorini
“In that moment, the smoke being so thick and so black, and the fire moving as fast as it was, I had no idea how I would get back in there,” she said. “There was no way that I was going to stand outside my house watching it burn with her inside. There was nobody to call for help, and I knew that I was the only one who knew where she was in the house, and waiting wasn’t an option.”
Angel credits her faith in God with giving her the strength to crawl back into the home and feeling her way to her daughter’s bedroom.
She dragged her daughter from the room to the front door. Angel’s skin melted off on the doorknob and she and her daughter both had skin hanging from their arms and hands. Most of their bodies had third-degree burns.
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Source: Angel Fiorini
Angel almost died during the recovery process after getting bacterial pneumonia and suffering a pulmonary embolism. The recovery process was a long one that required skin grafts and other painful procedures.
Thankfully her community rallied around her and helped to get then a new car, furniture, and a mobile home to live in.
A gofundme account was set up in the family’s honor to raise money to help them rebuild their life which can be found here. The kindness of her community is helping the family to rebuild their lives.
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Source: Angel Fiorini
Though they had been together for 15 years, Angel’s boyfriend and the children’s father decided to get married.
“It was such a wonderful surprise,” Angel told DailyMail. “After everything that we had been through, I think it had set Aaron thinking that we should get married at last. “It was such an emotional day. We were celebrating not only our wedding but mine and Gianna’s survival too. Just being able to stand there in front of our family was truly a miracle.”
We’re really happy that this super mom and her family got the happy ending that they deserved.
