Video: Wisconsin Firefighters Catch Man Who Jumps from Blaze

WAUSAU, Wis. -- Four siblings escaped from their west-side home Sunday afternoon (Feb. 15) before fire destroyed the dwelling.

Houa Thao, 20, jumped safely from a second-story window into the arms of firefighters shortly after flames spread through the first floor of his family's home at 203 S. Fifth Ave. His three teenage sisters escaped from the first floor before firefighters arrived, he said.

Battalion Chief Tom Leslie of the Wausau Fire Department said the cause of the fire is not yet known, but it likely started in the kitchen shortly after 1 p.m. The home is a complete loss, he said after firefighters had battled the flames past 3:15 p.m. with the house still smoldering.

Houa Thao's brother Johney Thao, 22, said he had turned on the stove at about 1 p.m. He said he then decided to go to KFC to pick up something to eat before going to work, but said he thinks he turned off the stove before leaving.

Because the house was old, the fire spread quickly in the walls and ceiling and proved difficult to battle, Leslie said. Spot fires spread in several rooms, and flames quickly spread to the second floor, he said.

"I can't say enough about the way the guys handled it," Leslie said.

Houa Thao said he was sleeping upstairs and awoke to the sound of a smoke alarm. He said he went downstairs and tried to kick through a door but failed, forcing him back upstairs for the jump.

Leslie said Houa Thao wouldn't have lasted long in the home because there was so much smoke.

"It was scary for a second there," said Houa Thao, who lives in the home with his two brothers, three sisters and his parents, who were in Green Bay when the fire broke out.

The youngest brother, Che, 17, said a fire damaged the family's former home about eight years ago, but the house was repaired and the family was able to return.

Republished with permission of The Wausau Daily Herald.