An Astoria woman, named Sally Cullen, is fighting life-threatening injuries after bravely rescuing her daughter from a house fire that ultimately destroyed their home and resulted in the loss of their family pets. According to KOIN, the fire started on the morning last Friday leaving Cullen with severe burns.
Amid the chaos, Cullen's actions were highlighted when she pushed through the advancing flames to save her daughter's life. A family member recalled her determination in an interview with KGW, "She sat down and she looked at my mom, and she said mom, we are going to die in here. I can't get out. And, my mom said the hell we're not and got up with all of her burns and pushed through the door and saved her and my sister's life."
After the ordeal, Cullen was initially taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital and later transferred to the Legacy Burn Center in Portland due to her second and third-degree burns. Now awake from a medically induced coma, she is experiencing difficulty speaking and is enduring significant pain. This was detailed in a statement obtained by KGW, where a family member relayed, "She was intubated and isn't able to talk that well right now. She is still in a lot of pain."
Sally's resilience is indeed formidable, with her daughters announcing, as per a report from KPTV, "She has an unshakeable will to survive." Doctors have informed the family that she may require surgery and a long stretch of rehabilitation. Following the accident, they have started an online fundraiser to support her recovery process, with one daughter saying, "She’s so tough, and the fact that she made it out alive with flames on her back speaks for itself." The cause of the fire has yet to be disclosed by officials.
