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Edina Fire Chief Talks About Operations at Fatal House Fire
April 18 – Edina Fire Chief Marty Scheerer talked with Twin Cities Fire Wire today about Monday morning’s house fire that claimed the life of a 54-year-old woman.
“It was a routine fire, except for the tragic loss of the resident,” Scheerer said.
Edina fire crews were called to 5300 block of Oaklawn Avenue at 4:47 a.m.
A police officer, who is also a paid-on-call firefighter in Edina arrived moments before firefighters and performed a quick size-up of the home. He found heavy smoke from throughout the from the 1 1/2-story home and flames showing from the A/B-corner in the basement.0
As Edina Engine 83 arrived, residents informed responders that three people occupy the home and were home. In rapid succession, the second and third alarms were called.
Engine 83’s crews stretched a handline in the front door as Richfield Engine 1 laid a supply line to Engine 83.
“As firefighters made their way in the front door, they found the victim and removed her to an ambulance.”
As crews made their way inside the structure, they encountered an area where the floor burned through. They retreated and gained entry through an egress window in the basement on the D-side of the home.
“We wanted to get a hold on the fire,” Scheerer said. “We had found the one victim and because of the time of the day, we wanted to try to find the other two who were supposed to be home.”
Firefighters made a push into the basement and contained the fire to the basement area.
As crews performed primary and secondary searches of the home, they found that the fire burned through the floor in two rooms. Scheerer estimates a hole about two feet in diameter burned through the living room floor in the front of the home.
A second hole, about six feet in diameter, burned through the kitchen on the B/C-corner of the home.
The fire was declared under control in about 30 minutes, but crews had extensive overhaul work to do. The flames burned through the exterior walls on the A/B-corner of the home and crews had to tear through lathe and plaster to stop the spread eof fire.
Firefighters from Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Richfield and St. Louis Park responded to the fire, along with Hennepin EMS. The Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office was called into to assist with the investigation of the fire.
Scheerer said that the department recently brought on a fire chaplain. “He handled the situation really well,” Scheerer said of the chaplain’s interactions with the victim’s family.
“He was spectacular and really helped the family and assisted us in dealing with the tragic situation at hand.”
Related:
Minneapolis Officials: Clinic Fire Was Accidental
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
Minneapolis fire officials said that the three-alarm fire on Bloomington Avenue on Wednesday was accidental.
Assistant Fire Chief Cherie Penn said that the fire “most likely started in a void space between the ceiling and the roof.” Investigators said this fire broke out in the northwest corner of the one-story building.
Firefighters were called to a fire alarm activation at the Bloomington Lake Clinic at 3017 Bloomington Ave. S. at 2:41 a.m. and arrived to find smoke from the structure.
At 2:47 a.m. a second alarm was called.
Despite interior attack efforts, firefighters were pulled from the building as the fire raced through the void space. A third alarm was called at 4:22 a.m. for Ladder 4’s aerial device and relief companies, Penn said.
Fire eventually burned through the roof and firefighters chased the fire using a tower ladder and master streams.
As the fire burned consumed the structure, several loud explosions were heard in the rear of the building. Following those explosions, the fire grew more intense.
Related:
Fire Levels Home Under Construction in Minnetonka
March 11 – A three-alarm fire destroyed a Minnetonka home that was under construction on Friday afternoon.
The fire was reported about 1 p.m. in the 16900 block of Grays Bay Boulevard. Two construction workers were in the home when an explosion triggered the fire, Minnetonka Patch reported.
A video on Minnetonka Patch’s website shows a large volume of fire coming from the home before firefighters arrived.
Firefighters used master streams and handlines to keep the intense fire from spreading to other homes.
Mutual aid was received from Chanhassen, Hopkins, Plymouth, St. Louis Park and Wayzata.
Heavy equipment was brought in to tear the remains of the structure down after the fire was placed under control.
Related
3-Alarm Fire Destroys Minneapolis Clinic
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
March 9 – A three-alarm fire destroyed a South Minneapolis medical clinic and tied up East Lake Street traffic during the morning rush hour. The fire was battled for more than four hours before being brought under control.
The fire broke out at the Bloomington Lake Clinic, at 3017 Bloomington Ave. S., around 2:45 a.m..
Fire crews arrived at the one-story building, measuring approximately 100 feet by 50 feet, and found smoke showing. They began an interior attack with hoselines.
Assistant Chief Cherie Penn said that crews were pulled from the building when it appeared that the fire weakened the roof. “We made several attempts to combat the fire from inside, but the situation became too dangerous,” she said.
The smoky fire escalated to three alarms, bringing a dozen pieces of apparatus and close to 50 firefighters.
Once fire was through the roof, Minneapolis Ladder 4, a tower ladder, was positioned in front of the building to use the elevated master streams. Engine 7’s crew used their master stream and laid a Blitz Fire to combat the heavy fire in the rear of the structure.
Large cracks were also evident on the B and C side walls and smoke pushed from the openings.
Firefighters evacuated some of the neighboring homes and residents rushed out with blankets on.
Around 6 a.m., several large explosions were heard from the rear of the building and shortly after, the rear windows failed and flames were licking up the outside of the building.
“We reduced the number of units on the scene because we’re exterior” Penn told Twin Cities Fire Wire at the scene.
At 7:30, flames were still shooting from the rear of the structure.
TwinCitiesFireWire.com will update the story when additional details are available. Additional photos will be posted later today.
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 