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Lantana woman meets rescuers who saved her from house fire

Posted at 10:33 AM, Nov 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-29 18:48:38-05

A Palm Beach County woman was overwhelmed with emotion on Thursday as she met the brave firefighters and officers who saved her life from a house fire.

Back on July 21, April Braun got trapped inside her home near 12th and Drew Streets in Lantana when it went up in flames.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue says firefighters found her on the floor of a bedroom with a blanket over her head, and pulled her to safety.

A police officer was taken to the hospital, and Braun tells WPTV that she was in a coma afterward.

Thursday afternoon, after months of recovery, Braun finally met the first responders who saved her life, hugging each of them and thanking them for their courage.

"I thought I was gone," Braun told the firefighters and officers. "I wondered if I had told my kids I loved them that day."

"Firefighters constantly train and prepare for the worst things, and you never know if we will encounter helping a victim in a fire," said one firefighter. "But I can tell you that this is a particular team that has worked together for years, knows each other, trains hard, prepares. And I'm sure they're emotional. And the bottom line is taking care of a life, that's what we want to do."

Fire Rescue officials say Braun remembers bits and pieces of the incident, and her story of perseverance and survival is inspirational.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Braun recover and rebuild. To donate, click here.