December 22 – The Ely and Babbitt fire departments battled a house fire in Ely this afternoon. The fire was reported around 3:55 p.m. in the 1400 block of East White Street. Damages were contained to the kitchen area and the attic. No injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation. The Ely Ambulance Service provided medical standby at the scene.

December 24-Several Iron Range fire departments were dispatched early this morning to a house fire in rural Mountain Iron. The fire was reported around 3:20 a.m. in the 9200 block of former Highway 169 in the Kinross area. The home was partially engulfed in flames when the first crews arrived. No injuries were reported, but the home received extensive damage. Fire departments on the scene included: Mountain Iron, Virginia, Fayal, Kinney-Great Scott, and Pike-Sandy-Britt. The Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

December 6 – Virginia, Eveleth, Mountain Iron, and Hibbing firefighters battled a fire this evening at a group home in Virginia. The fire was reported around 7:35 p.m. at the Grandview Residence, located in the 900 block of 13th Street South. Arriving Virginia fire crews found heavy smoke coming from the structure. Four residents and two care providers were able to safely evacuate the facility before fire crews arrived. The fire was quickly located and extinguished, however the home did have extensive smoke damage. No injuries were reported and all of the residents were relocated to other group homes. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office. Grandview is operated by Northern Habilitative Services (NHS), which is headquartered in Chisholm.

December 6 – A late night fire destroyed a trailer home in the Ely area. Morse-Fall Lake and Ely firefighters were called to the blaze on the Snowbank Lake Beach Road. Arriving firefighters found that the roof of the double-wide trailer house had already collapsed in. The home is considered a total loss. No injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation by the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office.

With the region getting various amounts of snow, here’s a great way to help our area firefighters.

November 27 – An early morning fire caused extensive damage to a home in Morse Township, south of Ely. The Morse-Fall Lake, Ely, and Babbitt fire departments were paged around 3:30 a.m. to the 1100 block of St. Louis County Highway 21. The building was already gulfed in flames and heavy smoke when the first crews arrived. Morse-Fall Lake Fire Chief Ted Krueger told The Northland Fire Wire on the scene that the fire appeared to have started in the basement of the large house and then spread through the entire structure. Several floors had burned through, making firefighting efforts extremely dangerous. No injuries were reported and two people at the home at the time were able to escape. The Eagles Nest Fire Department was also called in to provide water to the fire scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

November 25 – The Hibbing Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of this evening’s house fire. The fire was reported around 9:30 p.m. in the 3700 block of 4th Avenue West. The small house had extensive damage. No injuries were reported. Fire departments on the scene included: Hibbing, Keewatin, and Chisholm. As part of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS), the Virginia Fire Department was also dispatched with its Ladder 1 en-route. The Virginia apparatus was later turned back.

Fires related to smoking are the leading cause of fire deaths.

November 15 – An early morning fire destroyed a garage in Hoyt Lakes. Hoyt Lakes and Aurora firefighters were dispatched to the 300 block of Elmwood Road around 5:40 a.m. The single stall garage was a total loss. No injuries were reported.