Garage Fire Snuffed Out Prior to Firefighter Arrival

The  responded to the following incidents during the week of July 11-17:

July 11

• 12 responses requiring Emergency Medical Services by paramedic firefighters.
• A broken water pipe leaking onto a smoke detector caused a fire alarm in the 4900 block of Merilane.
• Smoke was reported on near the ramp to Hwy. 100 from West 50th Street. Firefighters found a resident burning brush. He was instructed and asked to stop.
• Smoke was also reported in the area of 6200 Xerxes Ave. Fire units were cancelled en route, when police discovered a recreational fire that was in Minneapolis.
• One false fire alarm was reported.

July 12

• 16 EMS responses.
• Paramedics assisted at a vehicle crash with injuries in Southdale’s parking lot.
• Another crash with injuries in a Southdale lot required EMS by paramedics.
• A natural gas line was severed by construction workers in the 5500 block of Dever Drive. The air was monitored until the gas company arrived to repair.
• Firefighters responded to the 6300 block of Colony Way for report of a smoking oven and found an arcing heating element. The power to the oven was disconnected and the oven was unplugged until it can be repaired.
• A report of smoke was investigated in the 5900 block of York Ave. A resident was found burning brush and was instructed that the material could not be burned. The fire was extinguished.
• One false fire alarm was investigated.

July 13

• Seven EMS incidents.
• A natural gas line was struck by a construction crew working in the 6000 block of Killarney Lane. The gas line was crimped and taped prior to the fire department’s arrival and the gas company responded to repair the line. 
• A reported oven fire was found to be a malfunctioning heating element in the bottom of the oven in the 6500 block of Ryan Ave. The power was shut off at the breaker and the homeowner was advised to call a repair technician. 

July 14

• Smoke was reported on the 5000 block of Arden Avenue. A city street crew driving by saw flames and smoke coming from an attached garage of a home under construction. They stopped and pulled the two shop vacuums and a floor finisher that were burning from the garage and extinguished the fire with water prior to the arrival of the fire department. There was smoke damage to the sheet rock in the garage but no damage to the structure from flame. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined.
• Nine EMS calls.
• Two off duty members of the specially trained Emergency Response Team were called in to assist Edina Police. 
• Two false fire alarms were reported.

July 15

• Edina firefighters were requested by Eden Prairie Fire Department to respond to the scene of a house fire with Tower 90. Edina crews assisted extinguishing the fire in the 9700 block of Lafort Drive.
• Seven EMS incidents.
• Paramedics and an Engine crew responded to a vehicle crash with injuries on southbound Hwy. 100, south of Excelsior Boulevard.
• A report of a natural gas odor was investigated in the 3200 block of West 76th St. The odor was found to be from an unlit gas burner left turned on. The windows were opened and no dangerous levels of gas were measured in the home.
• Firefighters assisted a resident who reported a burning or chemical odor in the 4900 block of Rolling Green Parkway. The odor was not present when firefighters arrived and no levels of gas were measured. No unusual heat was found using a thermal imaging camera.
• One false fire alarm was investigated.

July 16

• The Hopkins Fire Department requested mutual aid assistance at a house fire in the 90 block of Blake Road.
• Eight EMS responses.
• A copper natural gas line was accidentally drilled through in the 4500 block of Casco Avenue. The gas was shut off at the meter prior to the 911 call. Firefighters monitored the air and found no levels of gas causing a hazard.
• Three false fire alarms were reported.

July 17

• Nine EMS incidents.
• A carbon monoxide alarm was checked in the 5700 block of Duncan Lane. No carbon monoxide was found using the gas monitor. The homeowner was using alcohol-based paints at the time of the alarm, which could have caused the false alarm.
• 12 false fire alarms were investigated.