Faribault Fire Chief Dustin Dienst says, "Thankfully no one was hurt in this fire.  It is a good reminder that batteries are a power source and they need to be treated as such."

The Faribault Fire Department, Faribault Police Department and North Memorial Ambulance Service were all dispatched to the detached garage fire at 1124 Carlton Avenue.

Dienst told KDHL, "The call came in about a minute after a grass fire call."  He said a neighbor phoned about 9:40 a.m. because they could see the garage doors going up and down and smoke coming from the garage.

When firefighters arrived there was smoke coming out of the garage.

A news release from Dienst says, "Firefighters knocked down the flames and opened up the overhead doors to clear the smoke.  Fire had extended from the floor up through the ceiling and into the attic area.  Firefighters extinguished all hot spots and cleared the scene at 11:01 a.m."

The Faribault Fire Department conducted an investigation and determined the ignition source was 12 volt batteries for a camper that were stacked up in a corner of the garage.

Dienst told KDHL, "There are only so many things in the world that start fires and of course electricity is one of those but there was nothing else in this area. Technically batteries are a electrical power source. They were stacked on top of each other.  That is the only source of ignition. The point of origin was very well defined so we're very confident in our conclusion."

"The source was the batteries and of course the wood structure itself becomes the fuel for the fire to make it grow."

Dienst recommends, "Treating batteries as a power source.  Don't stack them.  Keep them away from combustibles.  We are seeing a larger influx of  battery caused fires.  A lot of them are lithium-ion batteries from new power tools.  Again remember all batteries are power sources and you've got to treat them with respect.  Give them some space."

The grass fire was. "Pretty small.  Located on Bagley Avenue in the Aldi Warehouse area."

Have you been to any of these communities?  Would you agree they belong among the 50 best?

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

 

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