Fire Damages Faribault Home Due to Snowstorm

Faribault firefighters were joined by police and ambulance personnel today in responding to a house fire at 1017 6th Ave. SW. The report was of smoke and flames in a wall.

The dispatch was sent 10:10 a.m. with all occupants of the home able to vacate and wait for the Faribault Fire Department.

They told Chief Dustin Dienst they were in the basement when they smelled smoke. They went upstairs to find smoke and were able to see flames in the walls through some cracks.

Firefighters made entry to the home through the front door and headed upstairs where they were met with heavy smoke and fire.  They began hitting the fire from the stairs and made quick headway.

When other crews arrived they continued hitting the fire from an exterior gable end window and hole firefighters cut in the roof.

It took longer to extinguish the flames due to the design of the home according to Dienst saying it, "Presented the challenge of hidden void spaces and storage areas."

Crews cleared the scene at 1:14 p.m.

The Faribault Fire Department conducted an investigation and determined the weight of snow on service wires pulled the support of those wires out of the siding of the house causing the wires to make contact with the aluminum siding.

The electricity from the wire was seeking ground through the siding creating resistance and heating.  Combustible building materials located in a void space ignited causing the fire.

Dienst summarized, "Every fire is a tragedy but this one could have been worse.  Had this happened whle the occupants were asleep or gone things could have been different.

There was no information in the Fire Department News Release concerning the extent of damage to the home.