29-Year-Old Mother of Four Injured While Rescuing Son from Minnesota House Fire Has Died

Sleepy Eye, MN (KROC-AM News)- A mother of four who was critically injured in a southern Minnesota house fire has died. 

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Emergency personnel responded to the house fire on the morning of May 8 in Sleepy Eye. 

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Mother Of Four Critically Injured in Sleepy Eye House Fire After Saving Her Son Passes Away

Responding firefighters found the home fully engulfed in flames and rescued a person who was still inside of the burning home, described at the time as a 29-year-old woman. 

She suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to a hospital in the Twin Cities. A 3-year-old boy was also airlifted to a Twin Cities hospital. 

Read More: Southern Minnesota House Fire Injures 6, Including Four Children 

He was last reported to be in guarded condition. Four other people, a 56-year-old woman, an 8-year-old girl, and two boys, ages 6 and 11, were taken to a hospital in Sleepy Eye with unknown injuries. 

A GoFundMe fundraiser, set up for the family, says the critically injured woman, identified as Katie Rehbein, suffered burns on 75% of her body. 

She passed away in the hospital on May 20, according to the fundraising page, which says she died “after an act of selfless heroism, saving her son from a fire.” 

As of Thursday morning the fundraiser has raised more than $17,000 for the family. Investigators have ruled out foul play as a cause for the fire.

The fundraiser says the deadly blaze was caused by an electrical fire. 

“May her memory be a blessing to all who knew her, and may her children always know the depth of her love. This family has been dealt with so much heartbreak and tragedy, the fundraiser says.