Washington Mom Survives Horrific House Fire, Marries Childhood Sweetheart

A Washington mother, who almost died while rescuing her three children from a house fire, got a happy ending as she recently married her childhood sweetheart, Aaron.

The victim, identified as 33-year-old Angel Fiorini, had suffered third-degree burns Oct. 28, 2016, at her home in Washington. Fiorini was in her one-story house along with her three children Gianna, Vinnie, and Rosalie, while the father of her children Aaron had gone out with friends, according to the Daily Mail.

Recalling the incident she said, “I remember opening my house and feeling really confused. I felt really hot and I was breathing but it was like my lungs weren't working properly and I couldn't take a decent breath. I got up and opened my bedroom door – that's when I saw about a third of my home was on fire and my whole living room was full of thick, black smoke.”

Fiorini added she picked up Vinnie and Rosalie and ran outside.

Speaking about saving her eldest daughter Gianna, she said, “I ran back in for Gianna. I didn't have a doubt I wouldn't get to her – it was a case of I had to rescue her no matter what. I think the adrenaline kicked in and I wasn't afraid.”

She said her only instinct was to save her daughter’s life. “I pulled her to the ground and dragged her beneath me out of the room and along the corridor to get to the front door. It was hard work but I wanted to protect her as much as I could,” she said.

Fiorini told Good House Keeping.com in June her hand melted on the doorknob as the fire chased her, while taking over the entire house.

“We both had horrible black, charred skin hanging from our hands and our arms and I remember thinking it was all going to be okay because we were alive but then I must have blacked out before we could get out of the house.”

Luckily for them, a retired firefighter Matt Burson saw the fire, raced to help the family and dragged both Fiorini and her daughter out of the house. Although Vinnie and Rosalie were completely unharmed by the fire, Gianna and Fiorini suffered severe burns and were flown to a specialist burns center in Seattle. During treatment, it was revealed Fiorini had suffered 43 percent third-degree burns on her back, arms, hands and neck along with severe damage to her airways. She also contracted pneumonia and septicemia (generalized infection) during her recovery, which resulted in multiple organ failures and she ended up in a coma for 10 days.

However, the horrifying conditions soon turned positive for the family as Fiorini and her daughter Gianna both recovered. Although the reason for the fire remained officially unidentified, Fiorini believes the faulty heaters in one of the rooms might be responsible.

Speaking of getting their life back on track, Fiorini said, “It was hard getting back to a normal life. Gianna suffered from horrible nightmares and I had severe sweats caused by the skin grafts. And losing everything we ever had was so hard – all the pictures and memories that go up in flames when your house did are irreplaceable and we had to come to terms with losing everything.”

However, things started to look up when Aaron surprised her with a marriage proposal after 15 years of being together.

“It was such a wonderful surprise. After everything that we had been through, I think it had set Aaron thinking that we should get married at last. I was so thrilled – I couldn't wait,” she recalled.

Talking about her recovery and everything her family went through, Fiorini said, “I thanked God for keeping us safe and I celebrated life! And if I had to do save my children again, I would. I wouldn't change a thing. Getting burned and being in the hospital was the worst time of my life but both Gianna and I survived. That puts losing the house into perspective.”