Pregnant Mom Jumps from Two-Story Window to Flee Fire at 36 Weeks: Her Family’s Incredible Story of Survival (Exclusive)

One year after Rachel and Travis Standfest narrowly escaped a house fire, the couple is relishing life with their daughter and awaiting baby No. 2

Last May, the couple was staying in Rachel’s parents’ pole barn in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while building their first house about 20 miles away in Rockford. Rachel, 26, and Travis, 25, had four weeks to finish their new home before welcoming their baby girl Brynlee when the unexpected happened.

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Pregnant Mom Jumps from Two-Story Window to Flee Fire at 36 Weeks: Her Family’s Incredible Story of Survival (Exclusive)
One year after Rachel and Travis Standfest narrowly escaped a house fire, the couple is relishing life with their daughter and awaiting baby No. 2

By Georgia Slater Published on May 23, 2024 09:30AM EDT
Rachel and Travis Standfest and daughter Brynlee
Rachel and Travis Standfest and daughter Brynlee. PHOTO: COURTESY OF RACHEL STANDFEST
Rachel and Travis Standfest were just weeks away from welcoming their first baby when they almost lost everything.

Last May, the couple was staying in Rachel’s parents’ pole barn in Grand Rapids, Michigan, while building their first house about 20 miles away in Rockford. Rachel, 26, and Travis, 25, had four weeks to finish their new home before welcoming their baby girl Brynlee when the unexpected happened.

Rachel, who was 36 weeks pregnant at the time, tells PEOPLE that she was at her parents’ home across the driveway working with her mom on her baby shower when she called it a night and went to put her pet goat away near the pole barn.

“I went upstairs and Travis was sleeping, which is not uncommon. I was just watching TV with our dog and I thought that I had heard something earlier, but I didn’t go check. I don’t know if I heard something or if I smelled something,” says Rachel.

“Something made me get up and go check the stairs, and all I could see was smoke. And so I grabbed [our dog] Otis and I ran back and I shook Travis up and I called my mom. The last thing I remember is Travis punching out the screen window, and I could see my mom in the driveway yelling, ‘Get out now.’ And that’s the last thing I remember for probably two weeks.”