Statesville, NC — Shayla RaeLea Addair heroically rescued her three young children and two family dogs from a house fire at their home on Thursday morning.
The fire began around 11:00 a.m. in the living room, where the family’s two toddlers were watching television.
At the time, the mother’s newborn was in a crib in a separate room. Addair noticed smoke and immediately grabbed the baby before confronting a wall of smoke in the living room.
The family had child safety locks on doors due to one child being on the autism spectrum, which initially made it difficult to exit the home.
Addair struggled to open doors and navigate through the thick smoke, at one point breaking a doorknob and crawling through smoke-filled areas to reach her children.
She was able to rescue her two toddlers and the newborn, carrying them to safety outside.
Neighbors arrived to assist, helping carry the children and alerting emergency responders. Addair also rescued the family’s two pit bulls from the laundry room.
All family members survived the incident, though Addair sustained minor burns and injuries while navigating the fire. Emergency responders transported the children to local medical facilities as a precaution.
Authorities have not yet released information regarding the cause of the fire. The family and community are being urged to provide support during the recovery process.
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