MIAMI (WSVN) - A mother and son suffered severe burns and are fighting for their lives at the hospital after they escaped from their burning Miami home.
Angel Lankford, whose daughter and grandson were burned in the blaze, stepped foot inside of their home on Thursday for the first time since it caught fire.
“We lost everything, and right now, they’re fighting for their life to live,” Lankford said. “My daughter has 80% burns all over her body. My grandson has 17% all over his body.”
The fire sparked on Monday along Northwest Fifth Place, filling the home with smoke. Lankford’s daughter Stevangela and her son TJ were the only people inside at the time.
Lankford said once the fire ignited, Stevangela shielded her son from the blaze while they escaped.
“She was upstairs sleeping on the baby, and I guess she woke up into a panic with the smoke already taking over the house, and actually just came downstairs with her baby in her arms,” Lankford said. “She was trying to shield him and get him out. She was trying to get him out of here.”
With her son in her arms, Stevangela made it out of the burning home. Paramedics transported both victims to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
Lankford said her grandson suffered some horrific burns.
“His whole face is burnt and his arms and his hand,” she said. “He doesn’t have a face. You don’t see any eyelids or none of that. Everything is just white.”
Stevangela and TJ are said to be in and out of surgery, as doctors work to reconstruct their burned bodies.
Lankford said the family will need help to cover the mother and son’s expensive medical costs.
“We lost the whole house,” she said, “a house full of furniture, clothes, whatever. We lost it. I know it’s going to be a long recovery, but they’re fighting to live.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
If you would like to donate to help cover Stevangela and TJ’s medical expenses, click here to be redirected to their GoFundMe page.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.