The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office responded to several building fires over the course of the last week. The first was on Sunday, Feb. 19, in Eden Lake Twp. A neighbor called to report hearing a loud boom and then seeing a fire at the neighbor’s home at 19111 Rosemary Rd. just southwest of Roscoe. Several deputies responded to the fire along with an officer from the Paynesville Police Department, Paynesville Fire Department, Chain of Lakes Fire Department, and Richmond Fire Department. CentraCare Ambulance – Paynesville was also requested to stand by.
When they arrived, they found that a three-stall, unattached garage was on fire and fully engulfed. Inside the garage was a 2022 Honda Ridgeline truck, a snowblower, a riding lawn mower, and many other miscellaneous tools and other items. The fire was extinguished, but the garage and contents were a complete loss. The Fire Department was unable to determine the exact cause of the fire but found nothing suspicious in nature. The garage was owned by
Matthew Jenks, 37 of Paynesville.
The second fire was Tuesday, Feb. 21, in Collegeville Twp. This fire was reported to the Emergency Communications Center by a passerby who lived in the area. The passerby drove to the fire and eventually indicated it was an outbuilding at a farm site at 16112 Co. Rd. 51. The owner was later identified as Peter Goerger, 69 of St. Joseph. The Avon and St. Joseph Fire Departments responded to this call.
When deputies and the firefighters arrived on scene, they found a 10 x 10 chicken coop fully engulfed. The coop contained eight laying hens. It’s undetermined what started the fire, but the coop did contain a heat lamp. The coop was a total loss with a damage estimate of $2,500-$3,000.
Thankfully, there were no injuries sustained in either of these fires. Fire safety is always something to keep in mind, but it can be even more important during the winter months. Due to a variety of issues like heating, fireplaces, space heaters, candles, etc., residential fires increase from November to March, with January and February being the peak. Fire safety tips can be found at the National Fire Protection Association website at nfpa.org.