19-YO Bride-To-Be Dies in House Fire Few Hours Before Her Own Wedding | “This Presence You Never Knew You Needed”

Paige Ruddy slept after saying her vows privately to her fiance waiting to say "I do" in front of family & friends the next day. Unfortunately, merely hours before the special moment, she was trapped in the fire and couldn't escape.

Cover Image Source: GoFundMe

By Suchitra B

May 30, 2023

Posted May 30, 2023

On the day of her wedding, a tragic house fire claimed the life of a young 19-year-old Wisconsin bride-to-be. Paige Ruddy and her fiancé Logan Mitchell-Carter exchanged vows privately on May 22 and had planned to say "I do" in front of family and friends at the Sauk County Courthouse for a May 23 wedding ceremony, according to her family's statement to WMTV News this week.

Paige Ruddy was supposed to get married on Tuesday, but instead passed away in a house fire in Reedsburg.

“She was just this presence you couldn’t explain that you always needed in your life,” Ruddy’s aunt said. pic.twitter.com/bTObeEAoVV
— Marcus Aarsvold (@m_aarsvold) May 25, 2023

But on the day of her wedding, a fire broke out at the house where Ruddy had been residing, along with her fiance and his grandparents who owned the place. She was taken to the hospital owing to smoke inhalation from the fire, and a day later, she passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage, per PEOPLE. The Sauk County Coroner's Office determined that Ruddy died from smoke inhalation. "Despite the amazing efforts of those who love her, the Reedsburg police and firefighters, EMTs, med flight, and the amazing staff at UW hospital over two horrible days, Paige could not be saved," reads a GoFundMe page set up for Ruddy.

“She was just a precious human. There was nothing about her that you couldn’t like,” Ruddy’s Aunt Holly told WMTV. “She was this presence you never knew you needed in your life, but always did.” Holly added to the station, “Her smile was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. She was always there to help anyone.” According to the family, the home didn't have any functional smoke detectors. They asked others to inspect their own homes to protect their families.

Paige Ruddy was trapped in the second floor of a house fire at around 4 a.m. Tuesday — mere hours before her scheduled courthouse marriage. https://t.co/0YgTZTEelR
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) May 27, 2023

"She had a big caring heart,” said friend Lily Markgraf, who graduated high school with Ruddy. In June 2022, Ruddy graduated from Reedsburg Area High School, according to her family, and she had intended to attend Madison Area Technical College's Vet Tech program the following autumn. The fundraiser states, "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."

Fundraiser by Brea Behn : Medical expenses, funeral funds for Ruddy family https://t.co/MvA9PZpgJs
— Mike Murray (@mikemurray77) May 27, 2023

Within the coming week, the family will host a private funeral service. A memorial service will be held in the open at a later time. Ruddy's family requested that everyone give their loved ones a bear hug in her remembrance.

Before firefighters arrived just before 4 a.m., three other residents of the house at the time successfully made their way outside. Firefighters had to burst through the glass to get to Ruddy because she was unable to escape the smoke, Reedsburg Fire Department Chief Craig Douglas told WMTV. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, Douglas said on May 24, but there is no suspicion of wrongdoing.