August was one hot month for firefighters

Following at least three fires the week prior, Alexandria firefighters responded to another house fire on Friday afternoon.

At approximately 4:15 p.m. an electrical fire was called in at Tim Olson’s residence at 151 Bluffs Road off of County Road 11 in Alexandria. Olson was not home at the time and nobody was in the house.

Flames flickered at the base of the home where a gaping hole was burned through the back of the house. Assistant Fire Chief Bill Thoennes said the fire was electrical related and is still under investigation.

“We definitely have fire in the house; how much we don’t’ know,” said one firefighter after arriving at the scene.

Thoennes said some damage was done to the interior of the house, centralized in and around the basement utility room.

Alexandria Light and Power arrived on scene around 4:40 p.m. to cut off power running to the home from the transformer. The Alexandria Fire Department was able to subdue the blaze with dry extinguishers until that time, according to Thoennes.

Sixteen fire calls have come in to the Alexandria Fire Department so far in August. Thoennes said that is about average.

“Three house fires in the last week is a little more than typical,” he added.

Douglas County Sherriff’s Office also responded to the scene.

Crystal Dey

Crystal Dey is a staff reporter for the Echo Press. Originally from Minnesota’s Iron Range, Dey worked for newspapers in North Dakota, Florida and Connecticut before returning to her home state to join the Echo Press in October 2011. Dey studied Mass Communications at Minnesota State University Moorhead with an emphasis in Online Journalism. Follow Staff Reporter Crystal Dey on Twitter at @CrystalDey_Echo.

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