Update: Woman Who Perished in Rochester Home Explosion Identified

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A woman lost her life in a house fire in northwest Rochester Monday night. 

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The Rochester Fire Department says dispatch received multiple callers reported hearing the sound of a possible explosion shortly before 11 p.m. 

Upon arrival firefighters found a single-level home with fire coming from three sides and a woman sitting in the street. 

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Woman Killed in Rochester, MN House Fire, Callers Report Sound of Explosion

The deadly fire occurred in the 2200 block of 49th St. Northwest. Fire crews began fighting the flames from the home’s outside and moved inside once the flames were knocked down. 

Concerns of the first floor’s structural integrity slowed the search and firefighting operation, the fire department says. 

Officials say the floor was deemed safe and firefighters put out the rest of the fire and did not find anyone else at the scene following a search of the home’s interior. 

First responders moved the woman found sitting in the street into an ambulance. She was pronounced dead at the scene, officials say. 

The Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's Office has identified the victim of the fatal fire as 69-year-old Patricia Lynn Spitzack-Havlish

The Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Rochester Fire Department’s Fire Marshal’s Division are investigating the cause of the deadly fire, according to the fire department. 

Officials say the home suffered significant fire damage. Mayo Clinic Ambulance and the Rochester Police Department also responded to the fatal blaze.

Story updated to include identity of the fatal fire victim