A woman who was asleep with her 11-month-old baby on Saturday when a fire broke out at their home in Ayer, Massachusetts, says they would not be alive if it weren't for their neighbors.
Shannon Holleran and her 11-month-old baby girl, Madeline, were trapped in their Bligh Street home on Saturday afternoon as it was engulfed in flames.
Both Holleran and Madeline were thankfully rescued by two alert neighbors who spotted the flames.
“I feel like it’s every mom’s worst nightmare to be in your house alone while it’s burning down with your child,” she said. “I just heard people screaming, 'your house is on fire.'”
Holleran believes those two neighbors saved her life.
She and Madeline were taking a nap at the time, and the smoke detectors had yet to go off.
The neighbors saw the fast-moving fire and kicked in the door:
Local
“I went downstairs and our neighbor was standing in our house screaming that the house was on fire," she said. "And I looked out the door and the whole side of the house, just in seconds I watched it go up in flames.”
The main door was inaccessible due to fire and smoke. What Holleran did next most likely saved her daughter's life.
“So I went out onto the porch and I threw her to one of the neighbors,” she said.
Sadly, though, their 4-year-old Australian shepherd Bergy didn't make it out.
Holleran says she went back to thank the neighbors who saved her life.
“If they hadn’t made it to us, my daughter and I would not have made it out of the house,” she said.
While the young mom has lost everything, she says she is just so grateful that they have their lives, and for the support of those in their town.
Holleran believes the fire started on the porch. Firefighters say it was an accident and doesn't appear to be suspicious.
