UPDATED: Two Rescued from Fire Caused By Tree Falling on Power Line

Updated at: 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, April 23, 2013

While the spring snow fell on much of the metro area this morning, local firefighters were fighting a home fire caused by a tree falling onto a power line.

According to Richfield Fire Chief Wayne Kewitsch, fire and police personnel reponded to a structure fire at 6444 Newton Ave. S. at around 4:30 a.m.

One occupant was at the doorway when firefighters arrived, and the second was rescued from a back bedroom.

"Personnel made a quick attack on the fire and were able to extinguish the fire before it extended beyond the basement," Kewitsch told Patch. "Both occupants were transported to HCMC via Hennepin EMS for smoke inhalation."

The fire was caused by a large branch falling from a tree in the backyard which shorted out the electrical service to the house, Kewitsch added. Richfield firefighters received help from Edina, Bloomington and Minneapolis fire departments along with Hennepin EMS.

***Original Text***

A house fire on a residential Richfield street about three blocks southeast of Hwy. 62 and Penn Avenue S. appears to have been the result of a "massive tree" that fell onto a power line, causing sparks, according to WCCO-AM.

The two people in the house at the time are OK: one was able to get out and the other was rescued, the station reported; there were no other injuries. 

Damage to the house from the fire didn't appear major, according to WCCO, but the tree was blocking most of the street; Xcel Energy said about 3,700 customers were without power across the metro area. (Xcel Energy's online outage map had its own outage Tuesday.)

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