August 13 – Six Iron Range fire departments battled a fire this morning at Quad Cities Recycling on County Road 921 in Virginia, near the St. Louis County Public Works Complex. The fire was reported around 7:00 a.m. and arriving Virginia firefighters found smoke coming from the building. Crews began with an exterior attack from two man doors at the front of the building and then transitioned to an interior attack. Damages were contained to the interior of the structure. No damage estimate is available. No injuries were reported. Departments on the scene included: Virginia, Eveleth, Moutain Iron, Fayal, Gilbert, and Hibbing. The cause is under investigation.

August 9 – Six Iron Range fire departments battled a basement fire early this morning in Virginia. The fire was reported around 5:30 a.m. in the 1000 block of 7th Avenue North. The residents safely evacuated the large house before firefighters arrived. The fire was contained to the basement with some extension to the first floor. The entire house had varying degrees of smoke damage. Fire departments on the scene included: Virginia, Eveleth, Mountain Iron, Gilbert, Fayal Township, and Hibbing. No injuries were reported. The cause is under investigation. The American Red Cross is assisting those displaced by the fire.

August 3 – Firefighters from several St. Louis County departments battled a semi tanker truck fire this afternoon on U.S. Highway 53 near Cotton. The fire was reported around 1:00 p.m. in the northbound lane, just north of the Three Lakes Road. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the rear wheels of the tanker and initial reports said there was no spillage of product at the scene. Fire departments dispatched to the fire included: Cotton, Ellsburg, Northland, Alborn, and the Minnesota Air National Guard in Duluth. No injuries were reported and the cause remains under investigation. The semi tanker truck is owned by Edwards Oil of Virginia. The northbound lane was closed for over an hour.

July 5 – A 73 year old man and a 68 year old woman sustained non-life threatening injuries when the single engine airplane they were in crashed this afternoon near the Eveleth-Virginia Airport. The plane went down in Fayal Township, near the intersection of the Bodas and Clyde roads. The Fayal Fire Department, Eveleth Fire Department, Gilbert Fire Department, Central Lakes Fire Department, Lakeland Fire Department, Eveleth Ambulance, Virginia Ambulance, Hibbing Ambulance, and St. Louis County Rescue Squad were dispatched to the area around 3:00 p.m. Within an hour, the wreckage of the plane was located and later, the pilot and passenger were found walking north of the crash site. Both were transported by Eveleth and Virginia ambulances to Essentia Health-Virginia. The cause of the crash is under investigation. WDIO-TV contributed to this story.

July 5 – Over a dozen Iron Range fire departments were on the scene of a large house fire in the northside area of Virginia. The fire was reported around 11:20 a.m. in the 700 block of 11th Street North. Just prior to the arrival of Virginia firefighters, a Virginia police officer used a neighbor’s ladder to rescue a toddler and two adults from the roof of the front porch. One Virginia firefighter was treated on the scene for heat exhaustion as temperatures on the fire scene were in the low 90’s. The house is deemed a total loss and houses on each side were damaged. Fire departments responding to the fire besides Virginia included: Mountain Iron, Eveleth, Fayal Township, Gilbert, Biwabik, Biwabik Township, Clinton, Cherry, Hibbing, Pike-Sandy-Britt, Cook, and Hoyt Lakes. The Eveleth and Biwabik ambulance services provided emergency medical services in the area and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Rescue Squad assisted in providing rehabilitation services at the scene. The Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the cause of the blaze.

July 4 – Three Iron Range fire departments were dispatched early this morning to a house fire in the Palo area. The blaze was reported around 5:20 a.m. in the 4400 block of County Highway 100. The house was already engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. The Palo, Lakeland, and Colvin Township fire departments were on the scene. A family dog is believed to have died in the fire. No one was home at the time. The Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office is assisting the Palo Fire Department in determining the cause of the fire.

July 3 – The Virginia Fire Marshal and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the cause of today’s vehicle fire inside the Virginia Police Department garage, located in the Virginia City Hall complex in the 300 block of 1st Street South. The fire was reported around 11:20 a.m. Arriving Virginia firefighters found one police vehicle engulfed in flames with the fire spreading to another police vehicle. The police department and city hall complex were evacuated and no injuries were reported. The two vehicles are a total loss and there are varying amounts of smoke damage in city hall. Fire departments responding to the blaze included: Virginia, Mountain Iron, Eveleth, Gilbert, Fayal Township and Pike-Sandy-Britt. The Hibbing Fire Department was also dispatched, but was cancelled enroute. Virginia city officials are assessing the damages to the garage and city hall. The fire was fought with outside temperatures in the high 80’s and low 90’s.

June 27 – Several fire departments including the Minnesota DNR and instructors from Central Lakes College were involved in fighting a wildland fire tonight (Saturday) on Pine Island on Lake Vermilion. The fire, which consumed about an acre and half, was on a rugged part of the island, made firefighting efforts difficult. Departments responding included: Greenwood, Tower, and Breitung Township. The college instructors were in the area, providing weekend courses at the Tower Fire Department. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Photos courtesy of Central Lakes College.

June 25 – Eveleth and Fayal firefighters work to knock down a vehicle fire which occurred this afternoon in the West Eveleth area. The fire was at the corner of 14th Avenue West and 2nd Street West. The vehicle was a total loss. No injuries were reported. The cause is under investigation.

May 6 – Seven Iron Range fire departments battled an apartment house fire in Biwabik this evening. The blaze was reported around 5:30 p.m. in the 300 block of 1st Avenue North. The building appears to have extensive damage, especially in the roof and attic areas. Fire departments on the scene included: Biwabik, Biwabik Township, Lakeland, Aurora, Gilbert, Virginia, and Fayal Township. The Biwabik Ambulance Service provided medical standby at the scene while the Gilbert and East Range police departments assisted in traffic control. There were no reports of any injuries. The cause is under investigation.