Update: House Fire in Savage Leaves 11 Homeless

A fire has ravaged a home in Savage, leaving a family of 11 physically unharmed but homeless.

As of May 23, the cause of the fire had not yet been determined, according to Savage Deputy Fire Chief John Babin.

"The house is a total loss and is uninhabitable," he said in an email to Patch on May 23.

The fire broke out around 4:15 p.m. May 14 near the 4800 block of West 140th Street and Ottawa Avenue, sending a giant plume of black smoke into the sky, visible from over a mile away. The fire seems to have started in the garage, but quickly spread to the rest of the structure. Next door neighbor Arnie Carlson first noticed the smoke. He looked out the window and saw the family's minivan completely engulfed and the garage on fire.

"It just spread so fast," Carlson said. "It went roaring through the rest of the house."

More than two hours later, fire crews from Savage, Burnsville and Prior Lake were still working to put out the blaze. The ruins of the home were still smoldering at 7:15 p.m.

No one was injured or killed, though one firefighter was transported to in Shakopee after complaining of illness.

It was a close call for 69-year-old Barbara Omaha, the matriarch of the family, who uses a wheelchair. While firefighters battled the blaze, the family stood in a yard across the street, weeping as all their possessions went up in flames.

Omaha escaped with her life, but just barely.

"I was in the kitchen," Omaha said. "If I'd been in my bedroom they'd never have been able to get me out."

The family has no place to go, she said. It isn't the first time that they've lost their home to a fire. Omaha said that four years ago, their house in Minneapolis was destroyed by flames. That time, they managed to get a few family keepsakes out— photos and other objects with sentimental value.

"This time I think we lost everything," Omaha said, as fire crews aimed water at two of the family's cars burning in the driveway.   

In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Omaha was cited in Scott County Court for having nuisance junk at her residence. The cause of the fire has not yet been identified and is under investigation.

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