A home for 5 up in smoke: Family loses three dogs in early morning blaze

• House fire

Echo Press photo by Greta Petrich At 3:48 a.m. Saturday, April 17, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Osakis Fire Department, Osakis First Responders and North Ambulance, responded to a house fire at 13688 Hope Road SE. The house, which was occupied by Kristen Crane and her four children, was a total loss.

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A fire destroyed a home near Osakis early Saturday morning.

At 3:48 a.m., the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Osakis Fire Department, Osakis First Responders and North Ambulance responded to the scene at 13688 Hope Road SE.

All occupants of the house – Kristen Lynn Crane and four of her seven children – were able to escape. They were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The house is a total loss, according to the sheriff’s office.

In a phone interview Monday afternoon, Crane recalled the terrible tragedy.

She said that at about 2 a.m., she woke up because her 4-year-old daughter crawled into bed with her and at that time, everything was fine.

Shortly before 4 a.m., however, Crane woke up again and thought she saw car lights. She described what she saw as something glowing.

It seemed reasonable because Crane’s 19-year-old daughter was supposed to be coming home from college.

Because she was still “foggy” from just waking up, Crane said the glow looked like headlights and that they were coming into her house.

As she became more alert, she realized that the glow was flames and that the house was filled with smoke.

She immediately grabbed her daughter, who had been sleeping by her side and then woke up her 10-year-old son, who had been sleeping on the couch.

Crane immediately dialed 911, handed the phone to her 10-year-old son and brought him and her 4-year-old outside.

Her 10-year-old is the one who talked to the 911 dispatcher, she said.

After getting two of her children outside to safety, Crane ran back inside the house and woke up her 17-year-old daughter and her 13-year-old son.

“That is when the smoke detector finally went off,” she said.

After all her children were outside and safe, Crane went back in the house again because her 10-year-old was crying about his new puppy he had recently received for his birthday.

The dog was in the laundry room, but when she opened the door, the smoke was too thick and she had to get out.

“I tried to grab them,” she said.

Unfortunately, three of the family’s four dogs died in the fire – a golden retriever, a German short hair and a shih tzu. One dog, another shih tzu, and a cat, survived the fire.

Three of Crane’s other children, who are either in college or graduated from college, were not home at the time of the fire. The four children who were, MaKenzie Ronning, 17; Christopher Ronning, 13; Matthew Ronning, 10; and Kylyn Mohs, 4, were home, but were not injured.

Crane was told that the cause of the fire was undeterminable.

After the fire, she and her children stayed with her parents, Jerry and Karol Mohs, who live in Alexandria.

Currently, though, Crane and her children are staying at Head of the Lakes Resort in Osakis.

Crane is a 9th grade teacher at the day treatment center for the Minnewaska School District. She stressed that she has “the very best students” and that they have been supportive.

She also said, “I am incredibly thankful for the Osakis Fire Department and the Osakis First Responders.”

Tags: local news, news, fire, osakis, crane, mohs