Maryland

DC Teacher in Coma, Severely Burned After Helping Save Her Mother From House Fire

"She laid her life out for my mom," the woman's brother says

A woman is severely burned and remains in a coma one week after helping save her mother from a massive fire that tore through her home in Capitol Heights, Maryland.

Flames raced through the home on Eastern Avenue on Sunday, Nov. 12.

Cheryl Morning was in the basement of the home where the fire started.

"She came upstairs to alert my mother. She laid her life out for my mom to make sure that my mom went out," said Morning's brother, Jonathan Streat.

Streat said his sister then tried to get out through a side door, but the door locks on the inside and she apparently couldn't find the key. Morning was trapped in the basement.

Bystanders kicked in the door and firefighters pulled her out.

Morning is in critical condition with burns on more than 70 percent of her body, her brother said.

Streat said their mother, Shirley Streat, has since been released from the ICU.

"This right here is hitting my heart in a way I could never imagine," Jonathan Streat said. "This is the toughest thing I've ever experienced."

Morning is a a teacher at Janney Elementary School in Northwest D.C. Her students made her a poster that reads "We Love You Ms. Morning" for her hospital room.

Streat said while dealing with his mother and sister's injuries, vandals have broken into the home a couple of times and stolen some the of the property that survived the fire.

"Everything can be replaced, but my mother and my sister can't be," he said.

Streat is an EMS captain with the D.C. Fire and EMS Department and disputed reports that there were no smoke alarms in the home.

He said he's thankful for the firefighters who rescued his sister.

"This is day seven and she's still here. So, thank God for that."

Streat has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his mother and sister's medical bills.

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