Firefighters from three Iron Range departments were dispatched last night to a report of a house fire in Hibbing. The fire was called in around 10:25 p.m. at 1112 15 Avenue East. Firefighters contained the fire to the contents of an upstairs bedroom. Damages were estimated around $25,000. Crews from Hibbing, Chisholm, and Keewatin were on the scene. There were no injuries. The cause is under investigation. Three people were living in the home at the time.

A late night fire at the Sawmill Saloon and Restaurant caused a small amount of damage to the Mountain Iron business. The fire was reported around 11:40 p.m. Sunday. Fast acting employees using buckets of water and fire extinguishers were able to contain most of the fire to a small storage area on the west side of the building. Firefighters from Virginia, Mountain Iron, and Fayal Township were dispatched to the scene. No injuries were reported and the business was open on Memorial Day. Photos courtesy of Jeff Damm of Virginia for The Northland Fire Wire.

Firefighters from Eveleth, Fayal Township, Gilbert and Virginia battled an early morning fire at Aqua Power on Hat Trick Avenue in Eveleth. The fire was reported around 3:10 a.m. Arriving crews found two semi tractor trailer trucks in flames. The trucks were parked outside the business. Once on the scene, crews were able to quickly contain the fire. Both rigs are a total loss. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Brimson Area Volunteer Fire Department and the Balsam Township Fire Department have been awarded funding through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Brimson will be receiving $30,905 and Balsam is getting $24,940. Both grants are for Operations and Safety.

May 12 – Mountain Iron, Virginia, Fayal Township and Eveleth firefighters were dispatched to a late morning fire in Mountain Iron. The fire was called in around 11:20 a.m. in the 8300 block of Gardenia Street. The fire was contained to the kitchen area. No injuries were reported, but two dogs perished. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office.

May 4 – Firefighters from four departments battled a huge house fire in Angora Township, south of Cook. The blaze was reported around 2:10 p.m. in the 8400 block of Highway 53. Arriving Cook firefighters found the home already engulfed in flames. Fire crews from Orr, Pike-Sandy-Britt, and Evergreen were also dispatched. The home is considered a total loss. No injuries were reported. The cause is under investigation.

April 14 – Firefighters from a number of eastern Iron Range fire departments spent Friday night battling a house and wildland fire on the Nikula Road in Embarrass Township. The blaze was reported around 8:20 p.m. Arriving crews found the unoccupied house partially involved, along with a grass fire near the structure. Firefighters from Embarrass, Pike-Sandy-Britt, Vermilion Lake, Babbitt and Aurora, along with Minnesota DNR were all on the scene. There were no reports of any injuries. The house was later determined to be a total loss.

April 12 – Firefighters from Hibbing, Chisholm, French Township and Virginia were dispatched to two late night fires at Hibbing Taconite. Shortly after 10:45, there was a report of a production truck fire at the mining operation. A few minutes later, a report came in of a fire at the pellet plant. The Hibbing Taconite fire brigade took care of the production truck fire while the other resources were directed to a fire in the electrical room on the third floor of the pellet plant. This fire was contained using dry chemical extinguishers. There were no injuries and firefighters remained on the scene for approximately two and a half hours. No damage estimates are available and the causes of both fires are under investigation.