Monday, May 20, 2013
A fire broke out and an explosion was reported at an airplane hangar at the South St. Paul airfield on Monday morning.
Update 5:30 p.m. 5/20/13: Inver Grove Heights' Assistant Fire Chief Eric Bergum confirmed that the city's fire crews responded to the incident as part of a mutual aid agreement with other south metro communities. According to the Star Tribune, the fire started when the owner of a private plane spilled fuel while working on his aircraft. According to pictures posted on Twitter, parts of a hanger's walls and roof buckled under the fire's blast. "(There were) concerns about it rapidly spreading from hangar to hangar," Mark Erickson, Assistant Chief of South Metro Fire Department told KARE 11. "It's open ceilings in this place so once the fire gets up and gets going it can spread rapidly." Original Post: A fire broke out and an explosion was…
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Fire crews from Mendota Heights and Eagan are on the scene. Southbound traffic is crawling on Interstate 35E.
An afternoon grass fire in the west ditch along the southbound lane of Interstate 35E north of Interstate 494 has slowed traffic. Crews responded to the fire south of Wagon Wheel Trail between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. Smoke was slowing traffic and officials eventually closed one of the southbound lanes, creating a traffic headache for the afternoon commute. Patch reports some burned areas did encroach on an apartment complex and business office area up the hill from the freeway, but crews knocked it down. A Minnesota Department of Transportation traffic camera showed fire engines at the scene at 3 p.m., where smoke is still visible. We'll update this story as more information becomes available.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Mendota Heights firefighters responded to the blaze. Two men jumped to safety from the second story of a townhome complex.
The death of a 33-year-old man during a townhome fire on Sunday morning is Eagan's first fire-related fatality since 2004, according to Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott. Eagan resident Roger Yarusso was killed in the blaze, according to a Star Tribune report. Two of his roommates sustained head, back and leg injuries when they jumped from a second story window to escape the fire, Scott said. The fire began in a first story living room around 6 a.m., Scott said. By the time emergency responders arrived on the scene, the structure—a four-unit townhome complex at 1527 Aspen Drive—was fully engulfed in flames. Eagan police spoke with both roommates outside of the townhome complex. The men told police they jumped from a second story window after …
Monday, October 15, 2012
The city's fire department recommends that residents install systems in their homes.
The Mendota Heights fire department is suggesting that residents install home sprinkler systems in their homes, Kare 11 is reporting. Mendota Heights Fire Chief John Maczko told Kare 11 that 3,000 people die per year in the United States from fires. "With lightweight construction and how buildings are made today, it's very important that we use every tool that's in the toolbox, and if it's reasonable in price, why not do it," he said. Kare 11 has more at its website: Maczko said 80 percent of fatal fires occur in single-family homes. And, he added, only 5 percent of those homes have a sprinkler system. The systems range in price but average about $1.60 per foot. For more information on at least one of those systems, just go to: www.…
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Despite the scant rain on Tuesday, conditions are ripe for uncontrolled fires.
Put out those bonfires, Mendota Heights residents. Extremely dry conditions have prompted Dakota County to level a countywide burn ban, effective immediately, according to Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott. The ban includes all types of fires, including backyard bonfires in protected firepits. Dakota County isn't the only county to implement burn bans this week. Steele, Goodhue and Washington Counties are already on lockdown, Scott said. Despite the scant rain on Tuesday, conditions are ripe for uncontrolled fires, said Scott, who cited a recent case in Apple Valley where an unattended bonfire burned a backyard and nearly claimed a home. The ban will stay in place until significant moisture is received.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
A balcony caught on fire, leading to the evacuation of the building.
The Mendota Heights Fire Department put out a fire at Lexington Heights Apartments Wednesday night that was likely caused by a cigarette. No one was injured. A 9-1-1 call from a resident came in at 8:05 p.m., reporting a fire had started on his third-story balcony. Dispatch instructed the resident to pull the fire alarm and evacuate the building. According to Police Chief John Maczko, the cigarette likely smoldered for some time before igniting. It spread into a side wall of the balcony, complicated the department's efforts, he said. Responders cleared the scene shortly after 10 p.m.
44.87202
-93.14682
Lexington Heights Apartments
2320 Lexington Ave S, Saint Paul, MN
/articles/balcony-fire-at-lexington-heights-in-mendota-heights-likely-caused-by-cigarette
1585493
/locations/6126284
Sunday, August 14, 2011
A home on the property caught fire shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Mendota Heights Fire Department responded to a fire at Somerset Country Club on Dodd Road Saturday night. A manager told Patch that the fire was at a home on the property, not in the clubhouse area. No one was injured. The fire was contained to the second story of what was once the groundskeeper's house, according to Assistant Fire Chief Dave Dreelan. The cause is unknown, and under investigation. Dreelan said there was "significant damage" to the attic and second floor. The call came in around 7 p.m. according to a Pioneer Press report, and the fire was out by 10:30 p.m. The course and clubhouse were open for business Sunday.
44.903084
-93.114113
Somerset Country Club
1416 Dodd Rd, Mendota Heights, MN
/articles/brief-fire-quelled-at-somerset-country-club-in-mendota-heights
1585440
/locations/5099555
Monday, June 6, 2011
How do you prepare your kids to react appropriately in emergency situations?
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
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Monday, June 6, 2011
Tornado season is upon us in Minnesota. Maybe your family already has had to camp out in the basement during a tornado warning. But when you take the weather radio and flashlights downstairs, do your kids know what's going on? What would they do if you weren't there with them? Storms and tornadoes are just one of the plethora of emergency situations kids can face. What if, for example, an adult has a medical emergency and the child is the only other person around? Some organizations, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have programs geared toward teaching kids about being safe in emergencies; FEMA's provides different web pages and quizzes, which ask questions from whether it's OK to drink flood water, to whether it's best to …
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Cold weather made fighting early morning blaze more difficult.
About 100 firefighters, including a team from the Mendota Heights Fire Department, responded to Ansari's Mediterranean Grill and Lounge in Eagan early Wednesday morning after a fire broke out. The restaurant is likely a loss, said Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott, though midmorning Wednesday he said it was too early to tell the exact cause of the fire. Nobody was inside the building, near Cliff Road and Rahncliff Road, when the first alarm went off at about 4:45 a.m., he said. The last employee had left around 3 a.m., Scott said. The first responders saw heavy smoke and flames through the roof above the restrooms and kitchen, Scott said. Responders called for a second alarm, then a third. All six Eagan fire units and one Apple Valley unit …
Niki Seabright
12:54 pm on Tuesday, June 7, 2011
We are very honest with our children about emergencies. We let our children know the truth and we don't shelter them when it comes to real-life situations. We practice fire escape plans including crawling and staying low, pulling out our window ladder if need be and going over again and again where we meet when we get outside. We also talk about tornadoes and go to our basement crawl space. I … more ›