Single Mom Of Five Dies Saving Her Kids From California House Fire

[Faygo Kid]

Source: Huffington Post

A California widow and mother of five died last week after running into her burning house to rescue four of her children. The kids sustained minor to moderate injuries but survived the blaze.

Kristina Stratton, 38, had been outside her two-story home in Bakersfield with one of her daughters on Thursday when the building caught fire, CNN reported. The mom rushed into the house to rescue her four other children, ages 7 to 18, who were trapped upstairs.

The children managed to escape the blaze by breaking a window and jumping to safety, according to KFSN-TV. They suffered from smoke inhalation and some other minor injuries and were treated at a local hospital, the Kern County Fire Department said.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they attempted to rescue Stratton from the fire but found her dead inside the home. The fire department said they were still investigating the cause of the blaze. . .

Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kristina-stratton-house-fire-bakersfield-mother_us_5c5fe978e4b0910c63f1424b

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Her husband had died of cancer, leaving her a widow with four children. And she tried to saved them all, at the cost of her own life. Where do we nominate her for her heroism?

Link to tweet

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[montanacowboy]

1. Jesus

That poor family, mother and father gone.

And then we have the scum of the earth family living like Kings and Queens off taxes like this poor family paid.

I am just so sick of it all.

[Faygo Kid]

3. Me, too. But show the courage that she did.

This is inspiration we all need (sadly). Be of good cheer, there are still good folks in this world. Like you. 😎

[Scarsdale]

4. So very true.

I am tired of waiting for KARMA to dole out some reality to certain people. Those poor kids, lost both parents. Brave young mother saved her children. Hopefully, there is extended family to take up the slack.

[area51]

2. Damn.

[riverwalker]

5. Omg

So tragic for this family. 😢

[riverwalker]

6. Her sister will raise the children: GoFundMe link

https://www.gofundme.com/gx7b4-stratton-family

[Faygo Kid]

7. +1

[MissMillie]

15. bump (n/t)

.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. She did not die saving her children.

She died because she raced into a burning house. The children got out without her.

It's genuinely tragic that she died, but firemen will tell you NEVER to enter a burning building. TV and movies show people doing that all the time and surviving. In reality, you will most likely die because fire spreads far more quickly than most people understand, especially because they have that false image from TV and movies.

[Yeehah]

9. May you never have to make that choice

Oh Perfect One.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. Oh, I hope I never have such a choice,

but she still died needlessly. And now her children are motherless as well as fatherless.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

11. She died saving her children.

Not knowing they were safe, she went into the building to get them.

She's a hero.

[DirtEdonE]

12. A parent has only one choice in a situation like this

And she made the choice any parent would make when their children are in mortal danger. It's an autonomic function for any parent. Save your children when they are in danger.

I hope the kids can find a way to stay together and care for each other the way their mother obviously cared for them - WITH HER LIFE!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. Since they got out without her help,

her death is incredibly tragic. If she'd actually been the one to break the window and help them leap to safety, then yeah. She's a hero. But she foolishly entered a burning building and lost her life. Meanwhile, her children are still alive, which is certainly good.

I realize I'm taking a very unpopular stand here, but I hope that others who read this exchange will think before racing into a burning building someday.

Fire is the one thing I'm most terrified of, even though I've never been in one, hope never to experience one.

[DirtEdonE]

16. I came very close to becoming a firefighter years ago

I finished the physical with the top score after working a 14 hour day in trucking. And I wouldn't relish running into a burning building even back then. But there's something visceral, unstoppable when a parent knows their children are in danger. I'm sure you know this if you're a parent. But it's even more visceral when that parent is the mother who birthed these children.

This is heartbreaking. I understand you're just trying to help others from suffering a similar fate. In hindsight, yes, she could have checked around the home but what if that the time she took to do that cost one of more of her children's lives?

It's an impossible situation. So heartbreaking.
This is a cruel universe.

[ToxMarz]

14. It's easy to know the right thing to do after something has happened

But not nearly as impressive a skill as you may think.

[JI7]

19. HER KIDS WERE IN A BURNING BUILDING

[Blue Owl]

17. Too sad

[sweetapogee]

18. from a different source

https://www.firehouse.com/prevention-investigation/news/21067988/ca-mom-dies-after-running-into-burning-home-to-save-kids

I'm a long time volunteer firefighter and have been on-scene for a number of fatal dwelling fires, one that was on my street. It is impossible to drive past one of those locations without remembering what happened there.

In the fire service we always stress having operating smoke alarms and two ways out of every room in the house. We urge familys to conduct fire drills, we teach them how to behave if the alarms go off and ask them to have a plan including one place where every one meets, usually at the front of the house. Get Out and Stay Out is what we say. I have seen kids as young as 6 years old do exactly that.

[iluvtennis]

20. OMG, what person. Rest in peace Kristina.