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15-year-old credited with saving family during structure fire

[Duluth, MN] A fifteen-year old girl is being credited with saving her family’s lives during a structure fire that happened early this morning. The Duluth Fire Department was dispatched at 12:49 a.m. for a report of a house fire. Upon arrival, crews from the UMD Station reported heavy fire showing from a second story window on the front of a two-story single-family home located on the 1100 block of East 10^th Street. The crew initially attacked the fire from the exterior and then advanced to the second floor of the home where they extinguished fire in two rooms and the attic.

Headquarters crews searched the buildings two floors and basement for any occupants including two cats. The cats likely escaped the fire as they were not located and doors had been left open by the escaping residents. The family consists of four adults and four children, all were home at the time and all escaped the fire.

“Thanks to the quick thinking of a fifteen-year-old who alerted her family to the fire, they were all able to get out of the home safely,” Assistant Chief Dennis Edwards said. “If she hadn’t woken up, and notified her parents, this could have been a different situation. She was very brave.”

One adult suffered burns to his hand while trying to extinguish the fire before exiting. He was transported by Mayo Ambulance to a local hospital and was treated and released.

Damage is estimated at $75,000 to the structure and $50,000 to the contents. The Red Cross is assisting the family who are displaced by the fire. The Duluth Police Department and Minnesota Power also assisted at the scene. There were no injuries to firefighters. Fire crews responded from stations at UMD, Downtown, Woodland, and Lakeside.

The fire is believed to be accidental and electrical in nature. The fire is being investigated by the Duluth Fire Marshal's office.

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