Woman left in critical condition

An Astoria woman is in critical condition after losing her home and pet dogs in a fire off Oregon Highway 202 in the early hours of March 28.

 

Sally Cullen had been sleeping in her living room in the house near her fireplace when the fire began. Her daughter Shelby Cullen, who lived in the basement, awoke to faint screams coming from upstairs and the family’s dogs barking.

 

“She came upstairs and opened the door from the basement to the living room, and it was already all black,” said Sara Cullen, another daughter of Sally’s who had not been living with them. “She couldn’t see anything, but she could kind of hear my mom.

 

“Then she saw her hand and grabbed it, pulled her in, and my mom was engulfed in flames. She pulled her to the utility room, which is a little bit down the hallway from the living room, and put a towel around her.”

 

Sara Cullen said her sister tried to open the other door to the utility room, which led outside, but couldn’t get it open due to either a jam or disorientation. At that point, Sally and Shelby Cullen feared the worst.

 

“She sat down with my mom and said ‘We’re going to die; this is it,’” Sara Cullen said. “And my mom is, you know, a hero in this way — I think they both saved each other — because she ended up getting up and bursting through the door and saving their lives.”

 

Other than a few scratches and bruises, Sara Cullen’s sister escaped unharmed. But Sally Cullen, who saved her daughter’s life, was severely burned. Once taken to the Legacy Health Oregon Burn Center in Portland, she was put in a medically induced coma.

 

Sally Cullen was brought out of the coma days later, but Sara Cullen said her mother is still unable to talk aside from “yes” and “no,” and recovery will be long and difficult.

 

“The doctors don’t know if she requires surgery yet, but it’ll be a couple of weeks to a couple of months,” Sara Cullen said. “And it’s pretty staggering the medical costs of this; it’s not covered by insurance. So I’ve started a GoFundMe to help support my family.”

 

Sally Cullen lost her home in the blaze.

 

“It was my childhood home, but for my mom, it really was so much more than a place,” Sara said. “It was a sanctuary. It was really special; it was a really special place that she built. It was the memories that shaped her, and it was a part of her identity, and so it’s tragic.

 

“And, you know, even more tragic than that is the dogs that died.”

 

Sally Cullen’s dogs Pinky and Buck, and Shelby Cullen’s dog, Loretta, were killed in the blaze.

 

Sara Cullen said the response from the community has been overwhelming. 

 

Having grown up in Astoria, she knew people in the area were close knit, but was still brought to tears to see old friends from school donating to the GoFundMe and sending words of support.

 

“My mom is a hero,” she said. “I think she has an unshakeable will to live, like I said in my GoFundMe, and I think my sister and her really saved each other.”