Woman saves baby from fire – then goes back in for her own mother, Texas officials say

A woman in Texas ran inside a burning home and rescued a baby from the fire, media outlets report.

Then she went back in to save her own disabled mother and died, fire officials said, according to KTVT.

Tina Mercer called 911 to report the house fire Monday afternoon in Kaufman County near Mabank, located southeast of Dallas, and told dispatchers that people were inside, KTVT reported.

Mercer then ran into the house and brought out an infant, the Athens Daily Review reported.

“Mercer was able to safely get the infant child out of the house and told the dispatcher she was returning into the house to help her mother,” Kaufman County Fire Marshal Randy Richards said, according to inForney.com.

Mercer ran back inside for her 65-year-old mother Linda Scott, who was disabled, the news website reported.

Neither woman made it out.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and found both women dead inside the home after being “overcome by heavy smoke,” Athens Daily Review reported.

Fire officials are investigating the cause of the fire, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Mabank Independent School District said the Mercer family has four children attending its schools, according to a Facebook post.

“We are working with several organizations to assist the family,” the district wrote in the Facebook post. “There will be a great need as they prepare funeral expenses and try to recover.”