Fire Tears Hole in Roof of Farmhouse on Woodbury Drive

Woodbury crews battled a house fire, as well as the elements, at the 4500 block of Woodbury Drive early Thursday morning.

The fire was mostly contained to the attic of the old farmhouse, and investigators are focusing on the chimney as a possible cause, said Todd Johnson, Woodbury fire chief.

“The attic was fully involved,” he said.

The call came in from the homeowner at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, and firefighters were at the house until 7 a.m.

Older homes are typically built with heavier lumber, which burns longer, Johnson said. Crews were on the scene for several hours to ensure it didn’t rekindle.

No one were hurt, but four people were displaced as a result of the fire, and the Red Cross was working to assist the family, Johnson said. The home is uninhabitable at this time, though most of the family's possessions were able to be saved, he said.

There is no fire hydrant access available for crews in the rural part of town, Johnson said, and firefighters had to use a dump tank and tenders for water.

Still, one hose line did freeze, though the flow of water was never interrupted, he said. The cold weather is also a challenge as firefighters get wet while trying to douse the flames.

It was a large fire when crews arrived and firefighters were “very efficient” in battling it, Johnson said.

“It really speaks volumes to the work they did,” he said.

Firefighters from Cottage Grove, Lake Elmo and the Lower St. Croix Valley also responded.

Like Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our free newsletter