Brainerd Home Damaged by Fire, Family Able to Get Out Safely

A house in Brainerd was damaged by fire early this morning, but everyone inside was able to evacuate the home safely.

Firefighters responded around 5:30 this morning to the house on the 2000 block of Graydon Avenue. Brainerd Fire Chief Tim Holmes said the family did everything right to get themselves out of the home safely before emergency workers arrived on the scene. He said they had working smoke alarms that woke them and that they were all sleeping with their bedroom doors closed.

When fire crews arrived, they found heavy dark smoke coming out of the front door and eave of the house. After entering the home, they found the fire in the basement area and quickly extinguished it.

Holmes says the spread of the fire appears to have been controlled by several waterlines that had melted apart above the fire. The waterlines acted like an automatic sprinkler system and controlled the fire spread until crews were able to get in and extinguish the remaining fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation but is not believed to be suspicious.