Fire burns Richfield home to the ground

House explosion
Firefighters respond to the scene of a house fire in Richfield, Minn. on Sept. 9, 2010.
MPR Photo/Rupa Shenoy

State and local officials are investigating the cause of an explosion that leveled a Richfield home Thursday afternoon.

The resulting fire spread to two adjacent homes on the 7600 block of 11th Avenue South and caused the temporary evacuation of about 20 homes. Richfield Fire Chief Brad Sveum said that no one was injured and fire fighters were able to extinguish the blaze.

Sveum said gas was involved in the fire, but said no gas crews were working in the area at the time of the explosion.

CenterPoint Energy provides natural gas service to the area. Workers inspected the surrounding homes after the explosion and did not find any signs of a natural gas leak, said company spokeswoman Becca Virden.

Virden said officials have not yet determined whether natural gas caused the initial explosion.

The state fire marshal's office of pipeline safety is assisting in the investigation, Sveum said.

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