Mother 'walked through fire' to save son from burning house

An Ottawa woman "walked through fire" to save her youngest son from their burning house earlier this week, her mother said.

Stephanie McDougall, 43, was seriously injured in the fire on Twyford Street on the night of Dec. 3. She remains in hospital.

McDougall's mother Beth Conway described her daughter as a "gentle soul" who is devoted to her three sons. When the fire broke out, McDougall "had to cross the path of the fire" to reach the bedroom of her 11-year-old, her mother said.

McDougall then collapsed in the kitchen where she and her son were found and rescued by firefighters.

"We know Stephanie saved [her son's] life and she walked through fire to get him," Conway said.

McDougall remains in stable condition at the Civic campus of The Ottawa Hospital where she's on life support due to lung damage caused by the smoke. Conway said she'll stay there two or three weeks before being transferred to a burn rehab centre in Toronto.

McDougall's 11-year-old son remains at CHEO. Her two older sons were able to make it out of the house on their own and were also taken to hospital. They have since been discharged and have been staying with their father, Conway said.

Ottawa Fire Services said it received a call about an odour of natural gas near a three-storey townhome on Twyford Street, about nine kilometres south of Ottawa's downtown core.

When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke coming from the side of the building and forced their way inside. They heard screams for help coming from the kitchen, where they found McDougall and her youngest son. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Conway said doctors have woken McDougall up a couple of times to communicate with her and offer updates about her sons.

"I think it provides her some relief to know that everybody is OK because that's the only thing she's concerned about," Conway said.

Conway said McDougall is a single mother who "only cares about the raising of her children," one of whom has a disability.

"She doesn't ever go out in the evening because she has a child at home that needs constant supervision," Conway said. "Her only focus is taking care of her pets and her children. That's what her life is about, period."