Midnight blaze damages Rue home

Firemen were called to a house fire on Second Avenue North in New Rockford shortly after midnight on Tuesday, May 11.

Homeowner Nathan Rue and his fiancé Jennifer Jacobson were awakened by their dogs, as smoke from the fire in the attached garage filled their upstairs bedroom. Rue grabbed his son Axel, and all three escaped without injury. Jacobson then went back to retrieve their dogs.

Firefighters could see the glow of flames as they left their homes to head to the fire hall just minutes later. According to official records from Lake Region Law Enforcement Center, firemen arrived on scene nine minutes after they were first paged at 12:19 a.m.

New Rockford Fire Chief Todd Allmaras said the fire in the garage was mostly contained within 15 minutes of their arrival. However, the fire had extended into the wall of the house, and it took time to chase down and extinguish some small pockets of fire that could easily have caused more damage to the living area. Volunteers were on scene until about 3 a.m., although Allmaras and a second member stayed on scene until nearly 4 a.m.

"Sixteen firefighters responded to the scene. I was very happy with how the members of the fire department handled this incident," Allmaras said.

The fire marshal was provided with information and photos and opted not to investigate the fire any further, according to Allmaras. They believe the fire started outside the house, in or near a whiskey-barrel flower planter, potentially due to spontaneous combustion from peat moss or a light fixture malfunction.

The most serious damage was contained to the garage, however there was smoke and water damage throughout the home.

Everything inside the home and garage is a loss due to smoke damage, Rue said. They were able to salvage some possessions, such as deer and fish mounts, guns and other sporting equipment, but they won't be able to use or display them.