Family with toddlers jumps from second-floor window to escape Waconia house fire
WACONIA, Minn. – A family was forced to make a dramatic escape early Wednesday morning from a fire at their Waconia home.
The Carver County Sheriff's Office says deputies found a family trapped inside, including two toddlers.
The DeLange family says they're counting all of their blessings a day after the fire nearly their lives. Dru and Chrissy Delange and their two young children were asleep when they awoke to a loud roaring sound.
"We ran out of our bedroom and grabbed our kids. And as we grabbed our kids, the smoke started pouring in, the smoke alarms and everything went off. So we couldn't get downstairs to either the front or back door exits. So we barricaded ourselves in the kids' rooms, and then called 911," Dru said.
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As Carver County Deputy Thomas Roble raced towards their burning home, he saw the family sticking their heads out of the second-story window, taking turns getting air.
"I saw him holding a small child and said, 'Throw me the child and you guys are gonna have to jump in,'" Roble said. "So he ended up throwing down two children to me and got them out of there. And then the two other adults are able to jump out and we were able to help them to safety as well."
"It was a second-story drop, so it was painful. But you know, we're alive. We're pretty thankful for it," Dru said.
Dru suffered a fractured vertebra in the fall.
"Thank you, I can't express my gratitude more," Dru said. "The fire department -- all of those guys were just amazing. My family would not be here without them."
Grandma Dee Delange also had a heartfelt thank you.
"As you can see, it's very emotional," Dee said. "We are so thankful to have them alive. The fire department and the police officers in Waconia and the surrounding area have just done an amazing job. We are incredibly thankful to them."
The family was taken to Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis for treatment.
Faith Delange, Dru and Chrissy's sister-in-law, has set up a GoFundMe, which has already raised more than $27,000 to help with that or whatever else they may need in the time ahead.
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"It is gonna be important, especially when they come home from the hospital, Dru and Chrissy are gonna be in back braces for about three months," Faith said. "Continued support will be huge after their home. It's still going to be a long road ahead."
"The whole town of Waconia, you know, we just cannot say thank you enough, they've stepped up for us," Dee said.
Dru and Chrissy are still getting treated, but their children -- just 1 and 3 years old -- are doing OK and are out of the hospital.