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The Twin Cities Fire Service in the News – June 25
Eagan’s New Safety Center/Fire Station In The News
The new fire safety center/Station 2 received a ton of news coverage this week when it had a grand opening and dedication. The $8.1 million building combined two fire stations into one, has several training features and is features green construction. Find more coverage here: Eagan Patch, Pioneer Press, This Week Newspapers
Final Interview With Richfield Chief Sveum
Richfield Fire Chief Brad Sveum talks with Richfield Patch’s Caitlin Burgess about 38 years in the fire service. Sveum, who retires this month, reflects on 29 year in Richfield and shares his most memorable moments. Read the interview here.
Brooklyn Center Receives Grant for Thermal Imager
The Brooklyn Center Fire Department has a new thermal imaging camera after receiving a $9,800 grant from the Firemen’s Fund Insurance Company. According to the Minnesota Sun Newspapers, the department’s current cameras are 15 and 17 years old. You can read the full story here.
Photographer Documents Live Burn in Lakeville
Lakeville Patch’s Paige Andrews photographed the fire department as they participated in a recent live fire training exercise at the ABLE joint training center in Burnsville. Check out the photos here.
There’s a New Fire Marshal in Town: Mendota Heights
Veteran firefighter Jim Lee was recently appointed fire marshal in Mendota Heights. According to the Mendota Heights Patch, Lee was a firefighter in West St. Paul and is now responsible for enforcing fire codes and conducting building inspections. Read the story here.
Fridley Police Beat Fire in Softball Matchup
The Fridley Police Department defeated the fire department with a 12-5 win in Friday night’s ’49er Days softball game. Fridley Patch reports that this was the first time the teams played each other in more than 20 years. Read the story and see the photos here.
Golden Valley Recruitment Drive
More than 20 people attended the first of three recruitment drives for the Golden Valley Fire Department. Check out Golden Valley Patch’s story and photos here.
St. Louis Park Fire Station Demolished
Construction crews demolished 40-year-old St. Louis Park Fire Station 1 recently. A video from St. Louis Park Patch shows the work underway and the website reports that it’s the first step in the construction of a new $15.5 million fire station.
Boy Scouts Learn About Fire from Stillwater Firefighters
Stillwater Patch covered an event where boy scouts were given a. Click here to see the photos.
See something that we’ve missed? Send an e-mail to TwinCitiesFireWire@yahoo.com and we’ll look into it.
Eagan House Fire Possibly Sparked by Lightning
Eagan Fire Department Photo
Eagan Fire Department Photo
Eagan Fire Department Photo
June 21 – Officials believe an early-morning house fire in Eagan was caused by lightning. Four of Eagan’s five stations were called to the scene.
Eagan crews were called to 885 Curry Trail at 4:45 for a report of flames from the roof of a dwelling. The 9-1-1 caller, a neighbor, was going to notify the residents of the fire.
Engine 4 and Ladder 2 arrived to find flames showing from the attic of the split-level home.
“Crews did an excellent job with a quick attack of the main body of fire in the attic area,” Chief Mike Scott told Twin Cities Fire Wire. The fire was burning above the living and dining rooms.
The home suffered extensive damage from smoke and water and damage estimates were around $100,000.
“Neighbors reported a loud burst of thunder about an hour before the fire was reported,” Scott said. “One neighbor described the noise as the loudest thunder he had ever heard.” The fire marshal is investigating the cause at this time.
The five residents escaped from the home and no injuries were reported.
- Assignment: Engines 2, 3, 4, 42, 5, Ladder 2, Rescue 3, Rehab 2 and Chiefs 1, 3 and 5
Inver Grove Heights Fire Injures Resident
May 10 – Firefighters from the south metro battled a late-night house fire in Inver Grove Heights that left one resident with injuries on Tuesday.
Inver Grove Heights (IGH) firefighters were called to a house fire in the 10300 block of Barnes Way at 11:42 p.m. Eagan (EFD) was also dispatched on an auto-aid.
IGH Chief 1 and Eagan Chief 5 arrived to find flames leaping high from the roof of the garage attached to a one-story rambler home. “The flames must have been over 20 feet high when we got there,” Inver Grove Heights Chief Judy Thill told Twin Cities Fire Wire.
The only occupant of the home had evacuated and was being tended to by a HealthEast Ambulance crew.
Arriving together, IGH Engine 11 set up for fire attack and Eagan Engine/Tanker 5 set up for water supply.
Using handlines, Engine 11’s crews began a defensive attack on the garage. Once the heavy volume of fire was knocked down, Thill said crews moved inside the home to cut off the fire extension.
The home is located in an area with no hydrants.
Firefighters set up two drop tanks and EFD Engine 5 started to siphon water from the tanks. IGH Tankers 14 and 36 arrived and dumped their tanks before proceeding to the fill site at city hall, almost three miles away.
Mutual aid was called from Mendota Heights and Rosemount for additional tankers.
Inside the home, crews pulled ceilings to access the fire. “The crews did a great job of getting to the fire inside the attic and stopped it about half-way through the home.”
Thill said the home was suffered heavy smoke and water damage and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
The last crews left the scene just after 2:30 a.m.
A crew from South Metro Fire was called first respond on a medical call during the fire.
Click here for aftermath photos from Inver Grove Heights Patch.
Eagan Gas Station Closed After Fire
Eagan Fire Department Photo
Eagan Fire Department Photo
Josh Grubb Photo
April 16 – A Eagan Holiday gas station will be closed today after an early-morning fire broke out in a storage room.
At 2:21 a.m. firefighters were dispatched for a report of smoke showing from the Holiday Gas Station at 3615 Pilot Knob Rd. As fire units were enroute, police arrived confirmed that smoke was issuing from the building.
The first fire unit on scene, Chief 4, reported heavy smoke from the one-story building. A second alarm was called, bringing resources from Eagan stations 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Engine 3 and Ladder 2 crews forced entry into the structure and located a working fire in the storage area in the rear of the building
Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott said that crews contained the fire to the storage room, but the building suffered significant smoke and water damage. The business would not be able to reopen on Saturday, he said.
The business was closed when the fire broke out the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Eagan Fire Marshal.
Assignment: Engines 1, 3 and 4 Ladders 1 and 2, Rescue 6, Support 2, Chiefs 1, 3, 4 and 5 and HealthEast Ambulance
Eagan Crews Called to Tactor-Trailer Rollover
Eagan Fire Department Photo
Eagan Fire Department Photo
April 4- Traffic near the 494/35E interchange was halted after a tractor-trailer hauling plywood rolled over on Monday evening.
Eagan Fire Stations 1 and 2 were alerted to the accident around 8 p.m.
Units arrived to find that the tractor-trailer rolled over on Interstate 35E. The truck had exited from Interstate 494.
Fire Chief Mike Scott said crews contained a motor oil leak and assisted Minnesota State Patrol with lighting the scene while crews cleaned up the spill.
No injuries were reported, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Rosemount Home a ‘Total Loss’
March 8 – Three departments battled a house fire in Rosemount early this morning.
Units were called to 12232 Akron Ave. after receiving a 9-1-1 call from a passerby reporting a home in the woods that was on fire, according to the Extra Alarm Association’s Facebook page. Firefighters from Inver Grove Heights and Eagan were called to assist.
When police and fire units arrived, the home was fully involved. KSTP-TV reported that the male occupant escaped the home.
TwinCitiesFireWire.com will update the story when additional details are available.
Related:
Off-Duty Eagan Firefighter Revives Man at Work
Chris Gustafson was working as a personal trainer at an Apple Valley gym when his training from the Eagan Fire Department paid off last month.
Gustafson was nearby when 66-year-old Randy Clausen collapsed after a game of raquetball at L.A. Fitness on Feb. 15, ThisWeekLive reported.
Finding Clausen without a pulse, he began CPR as others at the gym grabbed an automatic defibrillator and oxygen. Gustafson worked on the man until emergency crews arrived and took over care and transported Clausen to the hospital.
“For me it was just what I was supposed to do,” Gustafson told ThisWeekLive. “There are other paramedics that are out there every day doing this, and they don’t get any recognition.”
Related:
Early-Morning Fire at Eagan Restaurant
MNDOT Traffic Camera Photo
Firefighters are at the scene of an early-morning fire at an Eagan restaurant.
Crews were called to Ansari’s Mediterranean Grill on Rhan Cliff Road about 5 a.m.
Units from Eagan and Apple Valley have been on the scene battling the fire.
TwinCitiesFireWire.com will update the story when additional details are available.
Fire Damages Inver Grove Heights Apartment
Responders evacuated several residents when fire broke out at an Inver Grove Heights Apartment complex on Monday.
Crews were called to the Bridgewood Apartments at 3122 East 65th St. at 12:38 p.m. and when police arrived, they found heavy smoke on the third floor hallway.
Chief 1 arrived and directed Ladder 13’s crew to the fire apartment where they contained the fire to the kitchen. Police officers worked to evacuate residents from the building.
South Metro fire was called to the scene and operated to find fire extension and perform overhaul.
Chief Judy Thill said the fire was contained to the kitchen of the apartment. She said light smoke damaged the hallway and that no injuries were reported.
Thirty-five firefighters responded to the scene and Eagan Fire covered Inver Grove Heights stations during the incident.
- Related: Photos
Fireplace Sparks Dwelling Fire in Eagan
A fire that started in a fireplace caused extensive damage to an Eagan home, just as the Super Bowl kicked off on Sunday.
Fire crews were called for a report of heavy smoke in the home at 1235 Tananger Ct. at 5:25 p.m.
When Eagan police arrived they found heavy smoke from “multiple areas of the home,” according to Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott. Scott requested a second alarm.
On arrival, Scott heavy smoke showing and said the fire appeared to be near the fireplace.
Engine 6 arrived and stretched a hoseline into the structure and the crew from Support 2 secured a water supply.
Ladder 2 opened up to check for fire extension and Engine 4 was assigned to provide a backup hoseline.
A third alarm was called for additional assistance and Apple Valley Engine 2 was called to cover the city of Eagan.
Scott said the fire was contained to the wood structure that enclosed the fireplace, but it caused extensive damage to the area around the fireplace on the lower level of the home. He estimated the damage to be about $100,000.
- First Alarm Assignment: Engines 4 and 6, Ladder 2, Chiefs 1 and 3. Second Alarm Assignment: Engines 3 and 42, Ladder 2 and Support 2. Third Alarm Assignment: Engine 52, Brush 4 and Utility 2
Twin Cities Fire Wire 