Man, dog, pig die in Columbia Heights house fire
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. — A man and two of his pets are dead after a house fire in Columbia Heights early Thursday morning.
The Anoka County Sheriff's Office says the fire broke out just before 1 a.m. at the home on the 4600 block of Seventh Street Northeast. Heavy smoke and flames were showing when firefighters first arrived.
"Once we found out there was a person inside, we went into a different mode. We went into rescue mode," Columbia Heights Fire Chief Charlie Thompson said.
Firefighters ended up breaking a window to get to the man who was inside. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he passed away. He was later identified by officials as 59-year-old Brian Henry Drews.
"He had a pulse here, they began interventions on him once they got him out," Chief Thompson said. "But he died at the hospital."
The sheriff's office says a dog and a pig were also found dead inside the home, and they are still searching for a duck as of early Thursday afternoon.
The sheriff's office says a dog and a pig were also found dead inside the home, and they are still searching for a duck as of Thursday afternoon.
Hearing someone died is a scare for nearby neighbors.
"For lack of a better word, it sucks," said neighbor David Lickness. "Any loss of any life is not a good thing, especially this way. It was a shock."
Lickness lives just a few blocks down. While he didn't personally know the victim, it's hard news to swallow.
"I'd seen the dog out there, but I didn't know he had a pig and duck and all that, too," Lickness said. "That saddens me greatly that none of them made it."
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The fire is prompting Chief Thompson to issue a warning.
"I'm not saying there weren't working smoke detectors in there, but they'll certainly alarm you at the proper time so you can make an exit in a fire such as this," he said. "And at the time it does occur, because that's when they become dangerous and life-threatening, in the middle of the night when we are sleeping."
Thompson added when we change our clocks this weekend for daylight saving, change the batteries on your fire and smoke alarms, too.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The State Fire Marshal is assisting in the investigation.
NOTE: The story was updated on Nov. 7. 2023 with the victim's identification.
