Erika Poremski lit a candle after storms knocked out the power to her house.
She went outside briefly to charge her cellphone using power from her car.
Within minutes her two-story rowhouse was engulfed in flames - with her 8-month-old daughter and dog sleeping upstairs.
"I just heard her crying and I couldn't get to her," Poremski told WBAL-TV. "I tried really hard, everyone in the neighborhood tried. They were kicking the doors in and kicking the windows out. I couldn't (get her out). Nobody could."
It took firefighters 30 minutes to put out the extensive fire Aug. 14.
When firefighter rescued Viviana, their dog, Polo, was found dead still covering the baby from the flames, fire officials said.
"She only had burns on her side because of it," Poremski told WBAL-TV. "He stayed with her the whole time in the bedroom and wouldn't even come downstairs to get out the door."
Poremski suffered minor burns. Viviana suffered burns to almost 20 percent of her body and is in serious condition.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help.
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