BLAINE, Minn. – (Feb. 26, 2015) – It was the type of fire that comes along only about twice a decade. Blaine firefighters responded to a call earlier this week that was as severe as it gets. The fire department was called at about 6:30 in the morning. Firefighters arrived six minutes later to a fire that was already too large and too risky.
“When we arrived it was fully involved-we were in a defense mode which means we’re not sending any firefighter into this- it’s too dangerous,” says SBM Chief of Operation Dan Retka.
The fire was put out in about twenty minutes with more than thirty firefighters on the scene.
The investigative team was able to pinpoint the exact cause and location of where it all started. A heater in the garage was too close to something combustible.
Thankfully, all members of the home made it out alive with only one person injured. Even though everyone survived, Prevention Chief Connie Forster said there were still some things that could have been done differently.
“Move anything away from a heat source and I mean the water heater, the furnace, supplementary heating sources, keep combustibles 3 feet away. And then the other thing that could’ve made a difference in this fire is having a family escape plan.”
These prevention methods are some of the things the SBM Fire Department works fervently on, offering free home safety programs to make sure others don’t make some of the same tragic choices.
“The injuries that were suffered in the fire was because the mother/ grandmother went back into the home thinking she had a child/grandchild which any parent would do, any parent; so that’s why its advised to do the prevention and if that fails then you have this escape plan, so you have this meeting point so you don’t make that decision,” says Fire Chief Nyle Zikmund.
The damage done was more than extensive. Though nothing will be left of their home, Chief Zikmund says it’s amazing they still all have their lives.
“This is as massive of damage as you will see in a house that is still standing. There is 360 degree burns around this structure, wherever you walk-there is significant damage- that’s why it was just extraordinary, it really what that all of these people were able to get out. They didn’t have early detection, but they had early enough detection and they had they decided to get out.”
