ROCK FALLS--- Patsy Blaha and her family were forced to jump from the second story of her bedroom window during a house fire that demolished their home, located at 11th Avenue and 6th Street in Rock Falls, on Wednesday, December 20.
“I've worked so hard to accumulate everything in this home, now that it's gone, it's just terrible it’s devastating,” says Blaha.
The mother of three says she’s lucky the fire happened while two of her children were in school. The family suspects their Christmas tree started the fire.
“The youngest told his parents that the tree was on fire and they were pretty much trapped in the upstairs bedroom,” says Patsy’s mother, Brenda Scarborough.
Blaha, her boyfriend and her youngest son made the choice to jump, when they opened the bedroom door and saw flames consuming the main floor.
Rock Falls Fire Department also rescued a family friend who was sleeping in the basement during the fire.
Although Patsy’s son and family friend made it out of the flames relatively unharmed, Patsy suffered a few minor burns to her face.
Her boyfriend was also taken to a hospital in Rockford for minor injuries.
“God watched over them. God saved the little one, he has nothing but a little bit of singe on his hair and that's it,” says Scarborough.
One cat and two kittens died in the fire.
The family is working with the American Red Cross.
Investigations have not yet released the exact cause of the fire.
