A Rock Falls woman lost her home and all of her possessions in an early morning fire, but she's thankful to be alive.
Fire crews were called out to a two-story building at 3:30 AM Friday. The building is located in the 300 block of W. 2nd St. in Rock Falls. It's a total loss.
"All I knew was that my apartment was on fire and I needed to get out," said building resident, Holly Spatz. The business where she works is on the first floor, her apartment on the second. Friday morning, Spatz lost her job, her home and all of her possessions in the fire.
"They told me that I'm going to lose everything that I had in my apartment," she said.
But Spatz didn't lose her life. And firefighters say it's because she did everything right during the emergency.
"I don't see any fire but my apartment smells like smoke and my fire alarm is going off," Spatz recalls her experience. Working smoke detectors are what woke her up, warning her there was danger.
"I tried to get out of my apartment," Spatz explained. "And both of my doors were blocked by fire on the other side." So, Spatz didn't try to run out of the building, where she could have passed out from smoke inhalation. Spatz climbed out the window.
"She shut both doors," said Rock Falls Fire Captain, Bill Milby. "Which kept the fire away from her."
"She was getting our attention, hanging out the window," said Sterling firefighter, Lt. Matt Laughlin.
"She really helped herself," Milby said. "Allowed us to get the rescue on her."
Life will be tough for Spatz right now, but she's just thankful she still has a life --
"It's going to be okay."
