Fire Engulfs Savage Home—Leaves Family of 11 Homeless

A fire has ravaged a home in Savage, leaving a family of 11 physically unharmed but homeless. 

The fire broke out around 4:15 p.m. on Monday, May 14, raging through a house near the 4800 block of West 140th Street and Ottawa Avenue. The fire sent a giant plume of black smoke into the sky, visible from over a mile away. The fire seems to have started in the garage, but quickly spread to the rest of the structure. Next door neighbor Arnie Carlson first noticed the smoke. He looked out the window and saw the family's minivan completely engulfed and the garage on fire.

"It just spread so fast," Carlson said. "It went roaring through the rest of the house."

For over two hours, fire crews from Savage, Burnsville and Prior Lake are still worked to put out the blaze, which continuously reignited in flames. The ruins of the home were still smoldering as of 7:15 p.m.

No one was injured or killed, though one firefighter was transported to St. Francis in Shakopee after complaining of illness.

Nevertheless, it was a close call for Barbara Omaha, the matriarch of the family, who is bound to a wheelchair. While firefighters battled the blaze the family stood in a yard across the street, weeping as all their possessions went up in flames.

Omaha escaped with her life, but just barely.

"I was in the kitchen," Omaha said. "If I'd been in my bedroom they'd never have been able to get me out."

The family has no place to go, she said. It isn't the first time that they've lost their home to a fire. Omaha said that four years ago, their house in Minneapolis was destroyed by flames. That time, they managed to get a few family keepsakes out— photos and other objects with sentimental value.

"This time I think we lost everything," Omaha said, as fire crews aimed water at two of the family's cars burning in the driveway.

Officials with the Savage Fire Department said the State Fire Marshall's Office will be in charge of the investigation.    

This is a developing story. Check back at Burnsville Patch for updates.