A Monday morning fire in Maple Grove left a portion of a duplex uninhabitable after fire and heat damaged the interior and exterior of the home.
The fire was reported around 10:30 a.m. Monday morning, according to neighbors who said they initially saw the fire and smoke coming from the back of the home. Maple Grove Fire Chief Scott Anderson said no one was home during the fire and no injuries were reported.
When the call came in, according to Anderson, it was reported that windows were broken out and flames witnessed in the back of the duplex. Upon arriving, he said several neighbors had been attempting to extinguish the fire with garden hoses. Crews from the used a 500-gallon truck to put out the blaze.
The fire appears to have “smoldered” for a while before it was noticed, Anderson said, stating the home would need “extensive remodeling” from the fire on the lower level and heat on the upper level.
Colleen Rorvick, who lives in the unit next door, said she was home with her grandchildren when she saw smoke when looked in her backyard. She said she immediately got the kids out of the house and called 911. The adjourning unit did not suffer damages, Anderson said.
Neighbor Marissa Olson was outside watching her two children swimming when her 6-year-old son Jacob alerted her to the fire and she called 911.
“You could see a ton of smoke coming from downstairs – the flames just kept coming higher and higher,” she said. “I knew it was a real fire,” Jacob said, who commented he felt “good” to help.
Olson said her husband went over to the home to “make sure no one was home.” Her husband, along with two others, started “fighting” the fire with hoses until emergency personnel arrived.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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Just saying Maple Grove is not specific enough. Remember WHERE is one of the 5 W's.