Paige Ruddy, Reedsburg, Wisconsin bride to be, 19, killed in house fire on wedding day after getting trapped 2nd floor. Killed hours before she was to marry the love of her life, Logan Mitchell-Carter.
Family and friends were planning on rejoicing on what was supposed to be one couple’s happiest days in their lives. Now they are planning on one young woman’s funeral.
A Wisconsin bride-to-be was killed after becoming trapped in a house fire on her wedding day just hours before she was due to tie the knot.
Paige Ruddy, 19, was asleep on the second story of a Reedsburg home located at the 200 block of W. 2nd Street when it became engulfed in flames on Tuesday around 4am.
No foul play
The home didn’t have smoke alarms, giving Ruddy no warning or time to escape from the blaze. She lived in the home with her fiancé and his grandparents, but it’s unclear if they were the three other individuals inside the home who managed to escaped the inferno unharmed.
When firefighters arrived, they broke a window on the second floor to get to Ruddy, only for Ruddy to die in hospital the next day from a brain hemorrhage caused by smoke inhalation.
Family members remembered the teenager as a ‘presence you couldn’t explain that you always needed in your life.’
‘She was just a precious human,’ her aunt Holly said, according to 13 News. ‘There was nothing about her that you couldn’t like.’
Remembered as selfless and full of love
The cause of the fire is under investigation but police suspect no foul play was involved.
The bride-to-be was hours away from marrying the love of her life, Logan Mitchell-Carter before the tragic incident.
According to Holly, the couple privately exchanged their vows on Monday hours before the fire.
They were set to marry on Tuesday surrounded by close family at the Sauk County Courthouse.
A GoFundMe dedicated to cover Ruddy’s medical and funeral expenses mourned the late teenager as her family now prepares to lay her to rest.
‘Monday night the Ruddy family in Reedsburg, Wisconsin went to sleep excited to attend Paige Ruddy and Logan Mitchell-Carter’s small wedding ceremony,‘ fundraiser organizer Brea Behn wrote.
‘Instead, they were woken by police to be informed that there was a fire.’
Ruddy was remembered as selfless and ‘full of life’ since the day she was born.
‘She was kind, fun, and according to her family had lots of spunk. Paige always worked hard at everything she did.
‘All the normal things a kid does, but also extra things to help her grandparents, parents, siblings, and friends. Everything from helping grandma with drywall to helping her parents with the day-to-day work as the oldest sibling of three.’
‘Life really isn’t fair’
Lily Markgraf remembered the fun she had with her friend since seventh grade, and grieved for the life she won’t be able to experience.
‘I’ll never forget all the fun we had between lunches, classes together and all the projects we’ve worked together on,’ Markgraf wrote on Facebook.
‘I’ll never forget the pinterest board weddings weve planned, all the advice given back and forth, your awesome sense of humor.’
Markgraf continued, ‘You deserved to be able to get married. You deserved an opportunity to be able to start a family of your own one day. Life really isnt fair.’
Another person who appeared to be close to Ruddy and her fiancé Mitchell-Carter wrote a tribute to the teenager while recalling her future plans.
‘These two adorable kids were set to become husband and wife. Very much in love, they were planning a beautiful future together,’ Sarah Fry wrote on Facebook. They were saving to buy a home.’
Ruddy and her fiancé planned on moving out of the family home and purchasing their own property.
Ruddy planned on attending Madison Area Technical College in fall to be a vet tech.
