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Mom badly burned rescuing her 4 kids from raging house fire, Michigan firefighters say

A Chelsea, Michigan, mother suffered serious burns to much of her body after rescuing her children from a house fire, firefighters said.
A Chelsea, Michigan, mother suffered serious burns to much of her body after rescuing her children from a house fire, firefighters said. Screengrab from Gofundme

A Michigan mother is on a “very long road” to recovery after rescuing her four children from a raging house fire, suffering serious burns to more than 60% of her body as she pulled them from the blaze.

Firefighters in the town of Chelsea -- situated 15 miles west of Ann Arbor -- called her an “absolute hero,” in a post shared to social media.

When Mikala Vish’s home went up in flames Tuesday, Oct. 26, she quickly got three of her children to safety. But her 6-year-old son, Torin, was still inside, Vish’s mother, Susan Sutton, told WBJK.

“As I understand, it was an inferno and she just braced herself for it until she found Torin,” Sutton told the outlet.

Torin was also burned on his hands and arms, firefighters said.

Vish has been undergoing skin grafting surgeries, and communicating mostly through blinks and nods, Sutton said, according to a social media post by the fire department.

“Mikala..one tough cookie, full of determination, spit and vinegar..the staff tell me that’s what it takes to survive this, and they are confident she will!”

Firefighters are calling on the community to help Vish and her family, who “lost everything in the fire.” For more information about what is needed and how to best help, visit the department’s Facebook page.

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This story was originally published October 31, 2021 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Mom badly burned rescuing her 4 kids from raging house fire, Michigan firefighters say."

MW
Mitchell Willetts
The State
Mitchell Willetts is a real-time news reporter covering the central U.S. for McClatchy. He is a University of Oklahoma graduate and outdoors enthusiast living in Texas.
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