WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg couple say it was survival instinct, not bravery, that made them jump out a second-storey window to escape a fire in their apartment.
Dzintars Giertmanis and Alena Giertmane are from Eastern Europe and settled in Manitoba in 2012 and 2013.
The couple say before fire broke out on New Year's Day, Dzintars was talking to his mother on Skype and Alena was with their baby when she suddenly she heard a cracking noise and saw their Christmas tree on fire.
They tried to escape by the front door of their apartment but the door wouldn’t open.
Dzintars then went to the window, opened it, and jumped, breaking his leg in multiple places, but he managed to stand up, opening his arms to catch his seven-month-old daughter.
Alena jumped next, seriously injured her back and broke her two heels.
Dzintars laid baby Agnese on the snow and started calling for help.
“Something happened with the lock, we tried once, twice but the room was filling with smoke so quickly we had to find another way,” Alena said.
The couple says a girl took the baby, wrapped her up and took her inside to warm up, while the building’s caretaker called 911.
The couple says they are overjoyed their baby was unharmed.
They have no tenants insurance — they say they had no idea it existed.
Alena had back surgery and her feet remain in casts. She is expected to stay in hospital for another eight weeks.
Dzintars will need another four weeks to recover. Baby Agnese is staying with a friend while her parents heal.
The couple says they have received much kindness from staff at Health Sciences Centre and strangers.
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