Saturday was a busy day for firefighters in two counties, as just before 2:45 p.m. The Miesville Fire Department was dispatched to a grass fire on Dakota Circle off Prairie Island Boulevard in Welch Township. Hastings Fire also sent a unit to the call due to being close by. While en route, it was reported that the grass fire was threatening buildings, and may have caught a garage on fire. As firefighters closed in, the fire was upgraded to a structure fire, with both a garage and a home ablaze. Multiple area departments including Hastings were added to the call. When firefighters arrived, they began a multifaceted fire response, with some units attacking the buildings on fire and others attempting to put out a grass fire, which a local farmer aided in by creating a fire line. At 4 p.m. the grass fire was deemed controlled, but just before 4:30 the Cannon Falls Fire Department, who was on this fire, was released to tend to a large grass fire in their own district. At 6:30 p.m. the house fire was deemed extinguished, and fire units had cleared by 8:15. The Miesville Fire Department was assisted by 7 Fire departments (Red Wing, Hastings, Randolph-Hampton, Goodhue, Cannon Falls and the DNR Forestry and later Rosemount and Inver Grove Heights). The Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office and Prairie Island Police also responded. The fire remains under investigation, but the cause was potentially an unattended brush fire that spread to structures. As a result, the DNR is taking the lead on the investigation. Two individuals were treated and released for smoke inhalation. The home and garage were total losses, while multiple other residences suffered minor property damage from the grass fires.
