This 8-year-old ran back into burning home to save 11 puppies. Her mother followed
An 8-year-old Oregon girl didn’t know she was putting her life on the line when she ran back into a burning mobile home to save a litter of puppies, her grandmother told KOIN.
The girl’s mother followed.
“She knew there were babies there and went to get the babies and the mother went to get the baby,” Patty Krull, the 8-year-old’s grandmother, told KOIN. Krull lives next door and called 911 when she was alerted of the fire.
Firefighters hadn’t arrived on scene yet when the mother and daughter re-entered the burning home, The Yamhill Valley News-Register reported.
The fire “ignited quickly and it was over very quickly,” Krull told KOIN.
Honey Cosgrove, 37, and her daughter Nevaeh Applegate, who was getting ready to celebrate her ninth birthday, died Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Four other children survived the fire.
“I’m proud of my daughter, she gave her life for her children,” Krull told KPTV. She said there were 11 “brand new puppies” in the mobile home.
“Nevaeh wanted to save some puppies, could I tell you anything else about a big heart in a little girl,” Krull told KPTV.
The girl was a third grader, according to the Amity School District’s Facebook page.
“This is a terrible tragedy that causes much pain and grief for their family and our students and staff,” the district wrote in a Facebook post. “There are several siblings who survived the fire and will be dealing with this tremendous loss for a long time.”
Yamhill County Fire Marshal spokesperson Richard Hoover confirmed that Cosgrove was out of her home and went back in to get her child, The Yamhill Valley News-Register reported. Preliminary investigations ruled the fire as accidental and no foul play was involved.
Authorities believe there were no smoke alarms in the home, according to The Yamhill Valley News-Register.
Amity Christian Church has set up a memorial fund for the family, according to a Facebook post.
This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 10:58 AM with the headline "This 8-year-old ran back into burning home to save 11 puppies. Her mother followed."