A little girl is alive thanks to the sacrifice made by the family dog during a house fire, according to police in Maryland.
The Baltimore City Fire Department said that on Sunday around 10:30 p.m., a fire broke out at a home in the 6800 block of Gough Street.
Erika Poremski said that she was home at the time the fire broke out. She stepped outside to get something from her car, but when she turned around, her entire home was engulfed in flames.
Her 8-month-old daughter Viviana, was inside the house along with her dog Polo. Firefighters who arrived at the scene managed to extinguish the fire in 30 minutes.
They found Polo lying on top of the little girl in order to shield her from the fire. Sadly, the dog died, but the girl suffered burns just to one side of her body.
Paramedics managed to revive Viviana, and she was taken to the hospital, where she is said to be in serious condition.
“On Sunday, Erika and Viv were victims of a brutal fire at their home. Their dog Polo died a hero as it lied on top of Viv as the fire spread, saving her from being burned over her complete body.
“Erika has been released from the hospital and Viv is in the ICU at the children’s hospital. Viv suffered burns on 30 percent of her body and is not awake,” a family member wrote on GoFundMe.