Fire crews get a daily double

After a mercifully long run with no major fire calls, the Cloquet Area Fire District responded to two calls on Sunday, Jan. 12.

CAFD Chief Kevin Schroeder said a house fire at 318 Avenue E started in the afternoon, then crews were called around midnight to the USG Interiors plant for a fire in a dust collection system that caused a lot of smoke, but no flames.

Schroeder said the house fire Sunday was in the attic, and caused extensive damage to the roof structure and attic of the home near Pinehurst Park.

"We think it was burning for quite a while before anyone realized it was burning over their heads," Schoeder said.

The cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation. Schroeder said it can be hard to extinguish an attic fire completely because of all the insulation, so they kept a crew of two in a vehicle outside the home all night to watch out for hot spots. He estimated damages at close to $75,000. Three CAFD stations responded to the fire and the Carlton Fire Department also assisted.

The residents of the home were uninjured but have been displaced by the fire. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries due to falls and strains with all the ice, but nothing that required a doctor's visit, Schroeder said.

Firefighters also rescued a rabbit and birds from the home but a small manx cat with blue eyes and no tail is still missing. Schroeder said the homeowner thought the cat got out when they did. See the Missing Pets in the Northland Facebook page for a photo of a similar cat. Call 218-349-6123 with any information.

"It was a tough fire due to the construction of the house with multiple roof lines from multiple additions," Schreder explained, adding that it took a while to gain access but crews handled the fire response very well.

After no major fires since Thanksgiving, CAFD then spent about three hours at USG finding and putting out a fire in a dust collection unit in the ceiling tile machine. Schroeder said there was little damage, but it was still a challenging situation for firefighters.

"They ended up digging through dust and trying to find hot spots and embers," he said. "It didn't do a lot damage, we just have to dig through a lot of stuff to find it. There was lots of smoke, no flames."

CAFD firefighters also

responded to Aspen Arms in Cloquet on Tuesday after staff couldn't figure out triggered an automatic alarm. They evacuated residents and called CAFD. Schroeder said it turned out to be a false alarm.