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Updated: Memorial Day Weekend Ends with Blaze in Oakdale
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Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
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Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
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Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
This story was updated on Tuesday evening.
May 30 – A late night house fire, fueled by gusty winds, caused extensive damage to a Oakdale home on Monday.
Around 11 p.m., firefighters were called to 5489 Golfview Ave. for a reported fire on the deck that was spreading to the home. Additional calls reported the structure was involved.
Oakdale Chief 7201 (Chief Jeff Anderson) went on scene with heavy fire showing from the C-side of the dwelling. The lightweight wood-frame home was 2 1/2 stories in the front and 3 1/2 stories in the rear. The three residents had evacuated.
Command requested mutual aid engines from Maplewood and Woodbury almost immediately.
“When we arrived, the wind was pushing the fire into the eaves and through each of the windows and doors in the rear,” Oakdale Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Wold told Twin Cities Fire Wire.
He said fire was already involving the three levels of the home and it was decided to make a defensive attack.
“With a wind-driven fire involving a lightweight home, it moves pretty fast and you have to be careful about putting crews inside,” Wold said.
Arriving crews deployed several 2 1/2-inch hoselines around the structure to tackle the flames.
Firefighters also positioned 1 3/4-inch hoselines to protect the home on the B-side of the structure, which was less than 10 feet away.
The fire gained possession of the attic space and it was decided to use an elevated master stream to douse the flames as wind gusts in excess of 20 mph were steadily pushing the flames.
The fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes.
Once the bulk of the fire was knocked down, crews entered to home to hit the hot spots.
Once inside, crews reported that the home was structurally sound. “surprisingly, it was mostly content that burned inside and the structural components were in pretty good shape.”
Crews had to perform extensive overhaul as the fire spread throughout much of the home. The intense flames caused the lightweight truss roof to collapse.
Wold said the fire was deemed accidental, but the exact cause of the fire could not be pinpointed.
Crews from Mahtomedi, Maplewood and North St. Paul were at the scene. Units from Lake Elmo and Woodbury covered Oakdale station.
Video: Tankers Needed to Control Lake Elmo House Fire
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
This story was updated and new photos and video were added Tuesday morning.
May 9 – Firefighters from two states battled a late night house fire in a Lake Elmo cul-de-sac on Monday.
Firefighters were called to 5757 Highlands Ct. N. around 10:30 p.m., according to Lake Elmo Fire Chief Greg Malmquist.
A Washington County Sheriff’s deputy arrived and reported flames and smoke showing from the two-story home, which was set back several hundred feet from the road. The lone occupant had evacuated when the deputy arrived.
After a quick size-up, which showed flames engulfing the entire back of the home, he ordered a defensive attack.
The area was not equipped with hydrants, so water tankers were called into to help firefighters tackle the flames. Tankers came from: Bayport, Hudson, Lower St. Croix Valley, Mahtomedi, Maplewood North St. Paul and Oakdale.
Two drop tank sites were set up in the street in front of the home. The tankers were replenished up at Oakdale Station 1 on Helmo, where Oakdale firefighters had two fill sites.
Firefighters used to aerial master streams to tame the raging fire. Lake Elmo’s was set up in the driveway on the D-side and one from Oakdale in the driveway of the home.
Malmquist said that neighbors were concerned that the fire would spread to a nearby home and early efforts focused on saving that structure.
The fire was under control around 1 a.m.
About 75 firefighters were called to the scene and the Salvation Army was called in to provide them with relief supplies.
The Minnesota State Fire Marshal was expected to begin it’s investigation early Tuesday morning.
Woodbury fire crews were called to cover Lake Elmo stations.
Video Shows First-due Operations at Maplewood House Fire
May 1 – We’ve found this video that shows the first-due operations of Maplewood Engine 3 at Sunday’s house fire on Sherren Avenue. Maplewood crews, with auto-aid from Little Canada and North St. Paul, were called to the scene just after 7 p.m.
It appears that this video starts moments after Maplewood Engine 3 arrived and shows crews deploying a 2 1/2-inch hoseline that was used to knockdown the heavy volume of fire on the exterior of the home. You also crew crews establishing water supply and deploying the 1 1/2-inch line that was stretched to the interior of the home.
Read the full story here.
Updated: Mutual Aid Called to Maplewood Blaze
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Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
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Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
This story was updated on Monday morning with additional details, photos and a video.
May 1 – Fire crews from the North metro were called to a house fire in Maplewood on Sunday evening.
Fire crews were dispatched to 1475 Sherren Ave. — which runs parallel to Highway 36 — around 7:15 p.m. Automatic aid policies also brought one engine from Little Canada and one engine from North St. Paul.
Maplewood Engine 3 arrived to find heavy fire and black smoke from the C/D-corner of the one-story home. The crew quickly deployed a 2 1 /2-inch hoseline to knock down the fire on the exterior. Maplewood Fire Chief Steve Lukin said the dense black smoke came from the porch and exterior of the home.
“The fire broke through two windows in the kitchen,” Lukin told Twin Cities Fire Wire.
A 1 1/2-inch hoseline was deployed to the interior of the home and it was held to the kitchen. The interior of the home suffered smoke damage.
The fire was placed under control in about 20 minutes.
Lakeview EMS was on scene for standby, but no injuries were reported.
Lukin said the fire started near the porch on the C-side of the home, but the exact cause is still under investigation.
Residents Escape North St. Paul Fire
Two residents escaped a house fire in North St. Paul early Friday morning.
The fire, in the 2300 block of Indian Way, started in the rear of the one-story home, according to KSTP.
Firefighters were called to the scene about 2:30 a.m.
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