(photos: Stearns County Sheriff’s Office)
A garage was destroyed in the City of Kimball on Thursday after a minor reportedly lit a mattress on fire inside the structure.
The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says shortly after 4 AM Thursday, the department’s Emergency Communications Center received a call reporting the fire at 50 Cherry Street South in Kimball.
The caller reported that their neighbor’s garage was on fire, and the flames were quickly spreading to nearby trees. Another nearby garage was also reported to be on fire.
Stearns County Deputies investigated and learned that a minor child at the residence was attempting to dispose of a mattress by burning it inside the garage. The minor reportedly believed he had extinguished the fire with water, and returned to the house. The report indicates that a short time later as the homeowner’s dog was barking, the minor looked outside to see that the entire garage was fully engulfed by flames.
The Kimball Fire Department was called to the scene along with the Watkins Fire Department to extinguish the blaze. Mayo Ambulance was reported to have been on standby for mutual aid for the Watkins Ambulance.
Authorities say all the occupants of the home were able to escape safely.
Fire officials say the garage is considered a total loss, along with a vehicle that was in the garage and all of the rest of the contents of the building.
