DE PERE (NBC 26) — A De Pere woman recounts one of the worst nights of her life just days after she lost nearly everything in a house fire.
"It literally felt like a nightmare. I couldn't believe it. This really happened,” said Angela Olson.
The duplex Olson and her seven-year-old daughter rented engulfed in flames Wednesday night.
The two not only narrowly escaped, but also lost everything in their home.
"This one would've been the living room, then this is obviously the entry way entrance and then here is the kitchen,” Olson said.
The fire started in the kitchen where Olson was cooking.
"Honestly, the grease spilled all over me. I ripped my pants off. I grabbed my kid, threw her coat on, threw her boots on. Grabbed the dog. Shoved them out the door,” Olson said.
Despite having some burns on her body, she and her daughter made it out okay.
Her upstairs neighbors did too.
"It was just get everyone out. Yelling up to the upstairs. Yelling "get out, get out,"” Olson said. "That was my biggest fear. Once I got my kid and my dog out, I stayed out here in a t-shirt and my pajama pants that I threw on, because I was just waiting to see them get out. I was so scared that they were going to be trapped up there.”
Olson also saddened by some of the items that can never be replaced.
"Like my grandmother's ashes. All the photos we're never going to get back and momentos," Olson said.
She's been receiving an outpour of support from the De Pere community.
A Go Fund Me has been created to help the single mom.
"We truly appreciate everyone and the various way they've come to support us. All the donations. It’s very uplifting. Every bit of it helps,” Olson said.
In the meantime, she is holding onto hope. Hope that she and her daughter will get through this and eventually build a new home from the ground up.
"You can't dwell on the sadness. You gotta look up. You gotta to move forward. There are better days ahead,” Olson said.
