JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A two-story home in Northwest Jacksonville stands as a charred reminder of the fire Jacksonville firefighters battled early Thursday evening.
It happened before 6 p.m. on at the intersection of Wilcox Street and West 4th Street, near Kings Road.
When fire crews arrived on scene, flames were spilling out of the second floor, but all witnesses could talk about was the amazing escape of the people inside.
"I was on the porch sitting down. Somebody said smoke was coming from the back room. I got up. I looked back. A lot of smoke was coming down and I thought about Lynn upstairs asleep. I started banging on the thing, 'Lynn! Lynn! Lynn!' She finally came to the window and the fire increased. Someone encouraged her to jump. As she jumped, three people caught her. She cut her feet a little but she'll be all right," witness Roderick Dorsey told News4Jax's Vic Micolucci.
Jacksonville Fire Rescue believes seven adults were inside the home when the fire broke out but managed to escape from the home.
AUDIO: 911 call reports house on fire
JFRD Chief Mike Allen confirmed that one woman, who was one of two people upstairs, jumped about 15 feet out of a second-story window to escape and only suffered minor injuries. She refused to be transported to the hospital.
"She probably feels like God saved her. If it wasn't for God breaking her fall, she probably felt like that's good enough for her right now. She's not seriously hurt, she's not going to push the issue," Dorsey said.
Witnesses said they feel so grateful the community turned out and joined today to make sure everyone got out of the home safely.