Two-Alarm Edina House Fire Likely Ignited by Smoldering Ashes

Ashes from a fireplace are likely to blame for an overnight fire that damaged a garage and home in the 4200 block of West 44th Street this weekend.

The Edina Fire Department was dispatched to the home on a report of a garage fire at approximately 12:15 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, responding to find smoke coming from the garage and a fire inside of the structure.

Residents home at the time of the fire were safely evacuated from the structure without any reported injury. The two-alarm fire was extinguished thanks to mutual aid from neighboring fire departments and Hennepin County EMS.

The attached garage sustained the bulk of the damage from the fire, but the blaze also caused some damage in first- and second-floor walls of the home. Preliminary reports suggest ashes from a fireplace may have caused the fire, though an official cause is pending further investigation.

Fire Marshal Jeff Siems said proper disposal of ashes after using any fireplace is "crucial" for homeowners.

"Once the ashes are cool, they should be disposed of in a metal canister away from the home," Siems said. "Ashes and embers can retain heat for several days, even after extinguishing a fire."

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