A 38-year-old Minnesota mother died after returning to a burning St. Paul home to rescue her 3-year-old daughter; firefighters later found her shielding the child with her own body. Bonnie Pierce was inside a duplex on the 700 block of Magnolia Avenue East on August 22 with two of her daughters, Aurora and Grace, when the fire broke out. According to a GoFundMe organised for Pierce’s family, her 12-year-old daughter Aurora managed to escape by pushing out an air-conditioning unit and climbing through a window. Pierce also initially made it out of the house. But after realising that her youngest daughter, Grace, was still inside, she went back into the burning home. St. Paul firefighters subsequently found Pierce and the toddler in a bedroom amid heavy fire, thick black smoke and extreme heat. Pierce was unresponsive and suffered severe injuries. She died on August 24, while Grace remained hospitalised in critical condition and was expected to make a full recovery, according to the family fundraiser.
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