Elderly Maple Grove Woman Killed in House Fire
Charred remains are the only thing left from a place that a Maple Grove woman once called home.
Neighbors reported the fire on the 6700 block of N. Zinnia Lane around 7 p.m. Thursday night, and first responders arrived within minutes.
“First-arriving police and fire, five minutes later, found heavy fire pushing from the front of the house,” said Maple Grove Fire Chief Tim Bush. “So the house had a lot of fire, well-involved throughout.”
Chief Bush says the flames were so heavy, the first-arriving crews couldn’t enter the home until they fought the fire from the outside.
“Unfortunately, the resident, who was a longtime Maple Grove resident, didn’t survive the fire,” Bush said. “They were able to locate her, but the fire conditions on her arrival… it was not a survivable situation.”
Bush says the homeowner was an elderly woman who lived alone with her dog and needed a wheelchair to get around.
“These situations are traumatic; not just for the responders, but also for the neighbors and the friends and relatives that know this person,” Bush said.
‘First Fire Fatality for the City of Maple Grove’
Meanwhile, Bush says this incident was a first for the city.
“To my knowledge, this is our first fire fatality for the city of Maple Grove,” Bush said. “We’ve had fires that had death involved, but the deaths weren’t caused by the fire.”
He says help will be available to any of the first responders involved.
“And we’ve made sure the crews, especially the first crew that made entry, they know it’s okay to talk about this and it’s okay to reach out,” Bush said.
Yet despite the devastating circumstances, investigators say there was something positive at least that came out of this — They were able to save the woman’s dog.
Chief Bush says the cause of the fire is still under investigation, and because there was a death involved, the state fire marshal’s office came in to assist.
