Two bodies pulled from rubble of house fire in SE Minnesota
Updated: 8:45 p.m. | Posted: 11:23 a.m.
Authorities pulled two bodies Monday from the rubble of a house fire in southeastern Minnesota in which three other people were hurt.
The bodies, recovered in the afternoon, were taken to the coroner's office for identification, Fillmore County Sheriff Tom Kaase said. Neighbors gathered at the property Monday morning and said the home is owned by a bishop of the local Amish community.
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Authorities said two people were taken to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, Wis. One person was treated and released, and the other is expected to be released Tuesday, Kaase said. A family member was evaluated at the scene and then went to the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury and was released, the sheriff said.
Authorities have not identified any of the victims.
A passer-by reported the fire just after 1 a.m. Monday at the home a mile north of Canton, Kaase said. The main home was destroyed and another home was damaged, the Rochester Post-Bulletin reported.
Kaase said the State Fire Marshal's office will investigate the cause of the fire, but said "with this type of home, usually the only source of heat" is a wood-burning stove.
Members of the Amish community came from miles around, with at least a dozen buggies lining the road. A sawmill on the property was turned into a gathering spot for the Amish who came to support the families.
"It's heartbreaking, not only for the immediate family, but for the whole community," said Eli Hershberger, a neighbor.
Fillmore Sheriff Kaase said firefighter crews worked through the bitter cold to clear debris and search for the missing men.
"Obviously, the weather conditions are one of the things that makes this even more difficult," he said. "We're talking subzero temperatures, which complicates things for the fire fighting crews."
Kaase says the house was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived shortly after one in the morning.
Kaase said several hundred Amish people live in this part of the state.
"Multitudes of their friends and family members have come to console them and help them," he said. "The non-Amish in the area also are coming here, showing their support, helping them out."
Among them was Roman Yoder, a former Amish community member, who now lives in Canton, Minn.
"It's very hard when anybody's house burns down and somebody's in it," he said. "No matter who it is, it's very hard."
News of the fire traveled quickly this morning and the community is saddened by the loss, Yoder added.
MPR News reporter Elizabeth Baier contributed to this report.