The Dawson family’s lives drastically changed in an instant, but mom Crystal Dawson says she has no regrets about how she handled the day her house went up in flames, even though it left her temporarily paralyzed.
“I wouldn’t change a thing. My daughter is safe and that’s all that I was worried about.”
Early Friday morning Crystal went to prepare a bottle for her 6-month-old daughter. That’s when she realized something was seriously wrong.
“I couldn’t even make it not even three steps into my living room before I was hit in the face with flames,” the 30-year-old mother of three said.
Crystal, her husband BJ, and their infant were able to escape their Lynchburg, Virginia home, but BJ’s older son, 9, and daughter, 11, were trapped in their rooms upstairs.
The siblings were able to access a window at the front of the house and escape through it onto a small roof. Crystal’s stepson jumped from the roof, and she was able to catch him.
Her stepdaughter, Brianna, was hesitant even though the roof was seconds from collapsing. Finally, she jumped, and Crystal caught her too.
“I caught her with everything I had in my chest.”
