Owatonna Fire Responds to Weekend Residential Blaze

OWATONNA, Minn. – On Saturday, November 2, Owatonna Fire Department responded to a structure fire in the 700 block of Richway Lane Southeast, Owatonna.

At approximately 3:30 PM Saturday afternoon, the fire department was dispatched for a report of a possible structure fire.

Upon firefighters’ arrival, heavy smoke and flames were visible coming from the garage. While firefighters attacked the flames in the garage, other firefighters located fire within the residence and extinguished it.

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Fire crews remained on scene for two hours to ventilate and to ensure there was no further fire extension into other areas of the house.

Owatonna Fire Chief Ed Hoffman says,

The residents were alerted to the fire by smoke alarms and were able to safely evacuate prior to our arrival on scene. These residents did the right thing and stayed outside once they were out. They did not try to go back inside to retrieve any personal belongings. We’d like to remind Owatonna residents that if a fire occurs at your home, to get out and stay out. We will retrieve items from inside for you once it is safe for us to do so.

The residence sustained approximately $75,000 in damages, and two people and a dog have been displaced because of this fire. No injuries to residents or firefighters were reported. The cause is under investigation by the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Owatonna Fire Department thanks the following agencies that assisted during the incident -- including Mayo Ambulance, Medford Fire Department, Owatonna Police Department, Owatonna Public Utilities, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Just a reminder as we adjust to the Daylight Saving Time change, to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and give them a test. They may have saved an Owatonna family on Saturday.