A mother-of-three who almost died rescuing her children from a raging house fire has married her childhood sweetheart.
Angel Fiorini, 33, suffered third-degree burns over most of her body after the fire broke out at their home in Washington in October last year.
Her daughter Gianna, eight, also suffered severe burns over her arms, hands and belly. The pair spent weeks in the hospital recovering from their injuries.
And after a hard fight to get well, Angel married the father of her children Aaron, 34, in a beautiful wedding ceremony in July this year.
‘It was such an emotional day,’ Angel recalled. ‘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.’
Angel Fiorini (left and right), 33, suffered third degree burns over most of her body after the fire broke out at their home in Washington in October last year. Angel has made an incredible recovery (right) since the fire
Her daughter Gianna (pictured after the fire), eight, also suffered severe burns over her arms, hands and belly and the pair spent weeks in hospital recovering from their injuries
And after a hard fight to get well, Angel married her children’s’ father Aaron, 34, in a beautiful white wedding ceremony in July this year
Angel was alone at her one story-house on October 28 with her kids Gianna, Vinnie, four, and Rosalie, two, while Aaron had gone out with friends.
At around midnight, she woke up but she struggled to breathe.
‘I remember opening my house and feeling really confused,’ she recalled. ‘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.
‘I picked up Vinnie and Rosalie and ran outside with them. I remember looking at Gianna’s bedroom window and I don’t even think I screamed for help because there was no-one around.
‘Then I ran back in for Gianna. I didn’t have a doubt I wouldn’t get to her – it was case of I had to rescue her no matter what. I think the adrenaline kicked in and I wasn’t afraid.’
When Angel re-entered the house, the fire was worse and more than half her home was covered in 20-foot-tall flames.
She got down onto her stomach and she crawled army-style on her belly to get to Gianna’s bedroom as she listened to her daughter moaning ‘mom, mom’.
With her eyes closed as she felt along the wall, she managed to get into the bedroom and feel for Gianna.
‘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,’ Angel said. ‘It was hard work but I wanted to protect her as much as I could.
Gianna (center, standing) suffered from severe anxiety on the day of the wedding but she managed to watch her parents get married, on their special day
Gianna was treated in a separate room and her burns were less severe than her mother. Doctors said that if it hadn’t been for Angel shielding her from the flames and the smoke, she would have been a whole lot worse
‘I got to the front door and turned the handle – my hand literally melted on the door knob while the fire was chasing us as it took over the whole house – it was like something out of a movie!
‘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, a retired firefighter and ambulance man Matt Burson saw the fire and raced to help.
He found Vinnie trying to get back into the house to find his mum, so he pulled him to safety.
Then he went into the house and found Angel and Gianna, close to the door. It was such a blessing that Angel had dragged Gianna from her room because it was all in flames.
Outside, Angel and Gianna woke-up in horrific pain as they waited for emergency services to arrive. Thankfully, Vinnie and Rosalie were perfectly fine in the arms of neighbors.
Gianna and Angel were flown to the University of Washington School of Medicine’s Harborview Medical Center’s specialist burns center in Seattle.
Angel had suffered 43 per cent third degree burns on her back, arms, hands and neck and she had suffered severe damage to her airways.
For several days she breathed through a ventilator as her swollen skin started to recover and her arms were suspended in nets to aid healing from the ceiling.
Angel (pictured after the fire) was alone at her one story- house on October 28 with her kids Gianna, Vinnie, four and Rosalie, two while Aaron had gone out with friends. At around midnight, she woke up but she struggled to breathe
For several days she breathed through a ventilator as her swollen skin started to recover and her arms were suspended in nets to aid healing from the ceiling
Gianna and Angel were flown to the University of Washington School of Medicine’s Harborview Medical Center’s specialist burns center in Seattle. Angel (pictured) had suffered 43 per cent third degree burns on her back, arms, hands and neck and severe damage to her airways
Gianna was treated in a separate room and her burns were less severe than her mother. Doctors said that if it hadn’t been for Angel shielding her from the flames and the smoke, she would have been a whole lot worse.
Together, they started to recover but then Angel suffered a massive setback when she contracted bacteria pneumonia, sepsis and then she suffered multiple organ failure which led to her being in a coma for 10 days.
‘My doctors told my family it was touch and go as to whether I would recover,’ said Angel. ‘Somehow, I pulled through. Aaron was keeping a 24 hour a day vigil while a family friend had the children for us – I had so many people rooting for me that I had to get better!
‘I eventually had three skin grafts. One took the skin off my thighs and literally stapled it to my back and my arms – it was such a painful procedure but it had to be done if I was ever going to recover from the burns.’
Just five weeks after she was burned, Angel was allowed to go home where she says the community were incredible in helping the family get back on its feet.
A family they didn’t know donated a mobile home as their house had been totally gutted by the fire, they were given a mini van and so many gifts for the kids from well-wishers.
The cause of the fire was deemed ‘undetermined’ by the fire department but Angel believes the cause could have been faulty heaters in one of the rooms, although no-one will ever know.
‘It was hard getting back to a normal life,’ said Angel. ‘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.’
Just five weeks after she was burned, Angel was allowed to go home where she says the community were incredible in helping the family get back on its feet. A family they didn’t know donated a mobile home as their house had been totally gutted by the fire
Aaron and Angel (pictured with their three children) have been together for 15 years and Angel had always thought that they would never marry because they were happy the way they were. But in January, Aaron asked Angel to marry him – and she said yes
The cause of the fire (pictured is what used to be their home) was deemed ‘undetermined’ by the fire department but Angel believes the cause could have been faulty heaters in one of the rooms, although no-one will ever know
But in January, Aaron had a surprise for Angel.
The pair had been together for 15 years and Angel had always thought that they would never marry because they were happy the way they were.
At a dinner they had arranged to thank friends and the community for all their help, Aaron asked Angel to marry him – and she said yes!
‘It was such a wonderful surprise,’ recalled Angel. ‘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.’
The pair were married in July in a beautiful white wedding in the mountains above their home. Vinnie was the ring bearer and Rosalie was a beautiful little flower girl.
Gianna suffered from severe anxiety on the day of the wedding and she managed to watch her parents get married, but it was still an incredibly happy day.
‘I couldn’t believe that we were finally married!’ said Angel. ‘It was such a wonderful day surrounded by everyone important to us.
‘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.’