Mysterious RV Fire Delays Sunday Interstate 94 Traffic

A quiet Sunday evening on eastbound Interstate 94 in Maple Grove quickly turned into traffic jam following a fire in an empty recreational vehicle.

The was called to the scene of an RV fire on eastbound Interstate 94 at about 6 p.m. The firefighters responded with a pumper truck, which carry 500 gallons of water, according to an email from Fire Chief Scott Anderson on Tuesday.

“The fire was so big, the 500 gallons was not enough. So our tanker truck was requested later on during the incident,” Anderson said. Firefighters put it out sometime after the tanker truck arrived at about 6:25 p.m.

Even though the fire was out, the mystery as to what happened just started. 

“What made this event unusual was there was no one around,” Anderson said. “The RV was sitting on the shoulder of I-94 burning, but no driver or occupants.”

“Since there was no one around when we first arrived, there was some concern initially there may have been someone inside,” Minnesota State Patrol Public Information Officer Lieutenant Eric Roeske said. “However, after the fire was put out, the vehicle was examined and there was no one in it. We also made contact with the registered owner who said there was no one in it when the fire started.”

The owners said the vehicle overheated, Roeske said, who believes they walked away to get assistance when it had caught fire.

During the fire investigation, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) alerted motorists traveling on the roadway to the two blocked lanes between Highway 101 in Rogers and the 95th Avenue North exit in Maple Grove. The delays were deemed cleared by MnDOT at about 10 p.m. the same evening.

The fire was listed as accidental due to a mechanical fire in the RV, according to Anderson.