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DE SOTO, MO (KMOV) — Jeremiah Washburn says he was asleep when his girlfriend was startled by the smell of smoke engulfing their bedroom at their home in De Soto early Sunday morning.
Washburn’s girlfriend, Kari Detter, 18, her grandfather Joe Detter, 76, his wife Fran, and their 37-year-old daughter Sherri were killed when a fire broke out at a home in the 500 block of Vineland around 2:00 a.m. Sunday. Joe Detter was a building inspector for the City of Hillsboro. Sherri worked as election clerk for Jefferson County.
“I got up, ran to the hallway, tried to flip on the light switch, but the lights would not come on,” Washburn said when he woke up due to the smoke.
He says he panicked, looking for another way out. He and Kari held a comforter up to their faces as the fire grew closer to their bedroom.
“Finally, our backs were on fire while we were leaning out of that window, the smoke started to come up from underneath the floor, and that’s when I looked at her and I said, ‘Baby, we got to jump,” Washburn said.
After calling 911, Washburn says he jumped about 30 feet out of a second story window, landing on an air conditioning unit. The marks are still imprinted on his back.
“She was holding my leg. I told her, ‘You got to let go, baby,’ and I came crashing down on this thing right here, and I got my back pretty good,” he said.
He said he yelled for Kari to jump, but she wasn’t quick enough. Washburn says he is struggling to move forward as he wonders why he survived.
“The first 24 hours I was a complete wreck, completely devastated, my heart was shattered,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t know. I keep asking that question.”
The other survivor of the fire is Sherri’s boyfriend. Investigators say he is in the hospital with severe burns.
The cause is under investigation.
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