Farmington woman jumps out window to escape fire

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Gingerly strolling the halls of Hennepin County Medical Center, Liz Kolbenschlag is thankful to have avoided surgery and a concussion.

“I am truly blessed, that I know,” said Kolbenschlag. “I could have been killed, paralyzed... thank God I'm not.”

Sunday evening around 9:16 p.m., a  blaze started at the 300 block of Pine Street in Farmington, the apartment complex where Kolbenschlag lives on the second floor.

“I turned toward the door, toward the stairs and more smoke just poured in,” said Kolbenschlag. “So my only exit was on fire.”

One by one, Kolbenschlag and her four friends visiting her at the time started jumping out the window onto the concrete below.

“I grabbed the windows and tried to shimmy down the house, but it was pouring rain and so the siding was wet. I slipped backwards and fell on my back and broke my spine,” said Kolbenschlag “As I lay there, I knew I was in pain, but I knew I had to move because there were three other people waiting to jump.”

Now, other friends are sifting through what they can salvage of Kolbenschlag’s belongings.

“Everyone who can is just pitching in little by little what they can do,” said Laura Sennes. “One lady has the cat,  one gentleman is letting us put some stuff in his garage, I'm here doing the physical part. We are just doing what we can.”

The biggest challenge is where Kolbenschlag will go now that doctors are ready to send her home. Without rental insurance, a job, and family living out of state, she doesn't have a home to go to.

“I don't know what to do next, I really don't,” she said.

If you would like to help, a GoFundMe account has been set up at this link