Dog dies saving baby from fire

Baby Viviana was rescued alive and is in intensive care.

Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Samuel Johnson said the fire was reported at 10:45 p.m.in the 6800 block of Gough Street.

They managed to get inside the home through connecting units where they rescued the girl who was later taken to hospital.

Viviana Poremski was trapped on the second floor of her Baltimore home on Sunday when a fire broke out.

“And I couldn’t get to her, and I tried really hard”, Poremski said.

“Everybody in the neighbourhood tried. They were kicking the doors and kicking the windows, but no one could get inside.” . “I couldn’t [get her out.] Nobody could”.

Poremski, who suffered burns on her face and hands from trying to enter the home, tells WBAL-TV her daughter is a fighter. Outside of suffering burns to 19 percent of her body, Vivian’s condition is unclear and she is still in the ICU.

Polo the dog stayed by Viviana’s side and perished in the fire.

Erika Poremski tried frantically to save her daughter Viviana before firefighters arrived.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Firemen however didn’t give up, and when they finally got into the bedroom where the child was, they were astonished to see Polo lying on top of the baby, putting his own life at stake to protect her. She sustained burns on the side of her face and her arm, but firefighters say she would not have survived if it Polo hadn’t protected her.

“He was my first baby and now I lost him”, Poremski told ABC 13. Friends and family have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help the family pay for Viviana’s medical bills. Even better, she says, is the shorter work commute… just down the hall, and a dress code that’s changed from suits and heels to jeans and a sweatshirt.