1 remains hospitalized after fire damages 2 homes in Eden Prairie
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Four people were taken to the hospital this morning after a fire damaged two homes in Eden Prairie.
Neighbors living near the 10000 block of Lee Drive in Eden Prairie, say they heard explosions around midnight.
Investigators believe the fire began at one of the homes, and was so intense, that it spread to the other home. Two adults and two children were taken to the hospital. By late Friday morning, three of those people had been released from the hospital. However, two dogs and three cats remain unaccounted for.
"I heard like a really loud bang, where I thought somebody shut a door really hard in my house," neighbor Michelle Bleau said.
Just after midnight, the first explosion woke Bleau up. But it was the second one that really got her attention.
"I felt some rumblings in my house and I instantly got up from my bedroom window. I saw just flames from across the street and there were embers," said Michelle.
. @EdenPrairieFD crews are back and hoses are back out as they work on hotspots in one of two homes that went up in flames off Lee Drive overnight @WCCO pic.twitter.com/pATaAlx1Yo
— Pauleen Le (@PauleenLe) June 2, 2023
The surrounding neighborhood was briefly evacuated. Crews from five different departments arrived within just a few minutes. The orange glow from the fire and thick smoke could be seen from blocks away.
"For us to be able to have multiple fires at the same time, I can't tell you 100%, but likely that one of the structures ignited from the first structure that was ignited as well," Eden Prairie Fire Chief Scott Gerber said.
Witnesses said firefighters had the fire under control pretty quickly. Warmer overnight temperatures meant crews rotated through to keep cool.
"Never seen a big fire up close. It was pretty freaky," neighbor Steve Hunt said.
Steve said the explosions knocked a glass off a table inside his house. When he went outside, he saw flames shooting into the air.
"Just one bang like a huge firecracker, something like a stick of dynamite," Hunt said.
Despite the intensity of the fires, the good news is no firefighters were hurt. Gerber said the cause is still under investigation.
The adult that remains hospitalized is being treated for burns at Hennepin Healthcare. Temporary housing has been set up for those displaced by the fire.