Firefighters rescued a man after a fire damaged a Belle Plaine home, Belle Plaine Fire Chief Matt Stier said.
Firefighters from five cities battled extreme cold and a fire in an underground shed filled with wood, Stier said. The shed was 12 feet by 15 feet and was used to heat the the farmhouse.
The fire was reported at 1:41 a.m. Thursday on the 9060 Union Hill Blvd. It is an older, two-story farm house about two miles from Belle Plaine.
Firefighters say the homeowner called and said the fire began in the basement. When crews arrived, they found the homeowner unconscious in his bedroom. Stier said the man was overcome by smoke. He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, and his condition is unknown.
Crews are focused their attention mostly on the basement. Fire departments from Jordan, New Prague, Shakopee and Henderson were called to provide additional firefighters and water because there were no fire hydrants nearby so they have had to truck in water.
No damage estimate was available, Stier said. Crews used a backhoe so firefighters could reach the fire, Stier said.
“The house is still standing and in pretty good shape,” Stier said.
Crews were also facing battling brutal temperatures and minus 20 wind chill.
Stay with KSTP.com as we work to bring you more details.
Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.
Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.
He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.
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