Dorota Przymont, the woman who jumped out of a three-storey window when the house where she lived in Borgarnes, west Iceland, caught fire last week, suffered a skull fracture in the fall and other fractures in the upper part of her body.
Landspítali. Archive photo by Dagbjört Oddný Matthíasdóttir.
She is being kept unconscious at the ICU of the Landspítali national hospital in Reykjavík but her condition is stable, Morgunblaðið reports.
“I went into the hall and saw a cloud of smoke drift down the stairs. Both Dorota and Dariusz slept in the loft,” said Grzegorsz Sienkiewicz, the owner of the house, who lived there with Przymont, who is his girlfriend, and his cousin Dariusz.
Sienkiewicz called out their names and alerted Dariusz who ran down the stairs. It was around 4 am and Sienkiewicz had woken up because of some noise, crackling or explosion. None of the house’s three fire detectors had gone off.
However, as Przymont showed no reaction, Sienkiewicz soaked a sleeping bag and tried to open the door to her room. He was encountered by a wall of flames and couldn’t do anything but back down.
Shortly afterwards the two men saw Przymont lying unconscious on the ground outside the house and realized she had jumped out the window.
“Fortunately, help came quickly and Dorota was taken by ambulance and then helicopter to the hospital in Fossvogur where she arrived shortly before 5 am,” Sienkiewicz said.
The origin of the fire was in the loft in front of Przymont’s room. The police are investigating how it started.
Sienkiewicz moved to Iceland from Poland in 2005 and bought the house in 2007. It was made of wood and covered with corrugated iron and is one of the oldest houses in Borgarnes.
Przymont came to live with her boyfriend five months ago and worked at the pitstop Hyrnan in Borgarnes.
Dariusz has only been in the country for three weeks where he works for the company Loftorka. In spite of the shock Sienkiewicz said he would like to stay in Iceland.
The house is severely damaged, probably beyond repair. The furnishing was uninsured and the family lost all their possessions in the fire. Those who would like to help them through the difficulties can contact the local Red Cross (Tel: (+354) 857-7100).
Click here to read more about the fire.
ESA
