ASTORIA, Ore. (KPTV) – An Astoria woman is recovering from third-degree burns after a fire destroyed her 32-year-old home and took the lives of several of her pets.
Shelby Cullen says her mother, Sally, is the only reason she escaped the flames early Friday morning.
The Olney-Walluski Fire & Rescue District responded to the fire near Highway 202 shortly after 4 a.m. Crews called for a second alarm after finding the three-story home “fully engulfed in flames.”
Shelby says she heard faint cries from her mother while she was sleeping in the basement. She went upstairs to find her mom trapped in the fire.
“We came down the hallway and got her in the laundry room, and that’s when I wrapped her in a blanket to put out the flames,” Shelby said.
As Shelby tried to open the door for them to escape the home, she says she became dizzy and struggled to move. She told her mom they wouldn’t make it, but her younger sister, Sara, says their mother kept fighting.
“My mom got up with all her burns and said, ‘The hell we’re not,‘” Sara said. “She busted through the door, and they saved each other.”
According to the Olney-Walluski Fire & Rescue District, both Shelby and Sally were transported to Columbia Memorial Hospital. Shelby was discharged, but Sally was transferred to The Legacy Oregon Burn Center in Portland for treatment of third-degree burns.
Shelby says her mother sustained burns covering 11% of her body, primarily affecting her back, head, hands, and feet.
“They had to put her in a medically induced coma, and they were worried her esophagus might collapse,” said Sara.
Shelby says while she tried to save all their dogs from the flames Friday morning, seven did not survive. Among those lost were two dogs named Buck and Loretta Lynn, who had been with the family for years.
The home is now reduced to a chimney and a chair with a heart-shaped design. Shelby told FOX 12 the home, built in 1992 by Sally and her former husband, held significant sentimental value as the location where she and Sara grew up.
Doctors removed Sally from the coma on Monday, and her daughters say she is slowly beginning to form sentences.
Sally may require surgery and long-term rehabilitation, but her family says, “She has an unshakeable will to survive.”
“She’s so tough, and the fact that she made it out alive with flames on her back speaks for itself,” Sara said.
Sally’s family launched an online fundraiser to support her recovery.
Officials have not yet released the cause of the fire.
Copyright 2025 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
