ELY- The fire siren here went off for five minutes just after 11 p.m. Tuesday night for a structure fire which claimed the life of a woman and two dogs.
The fire caused extensive damage to the two-story home at 254 N. Fifth Ave. E., which county tax records list as belonging to Clary Larson of Gilbert.
The Ely Fire Department’s Hummer arrived first to find the residence engulfed in smoke with some flames visible from the outside. Scanner traffic indicated that the fire department quickly knocked down the exterior flames, reporting that smoke was still pouring out from under the eaves and through the chimney from a fire that appeared to be in the basement and first floor. Firefighters on the scene reported a hot interior, with dense smoke and low visibility as they worked to extinguish the blaze. Firefighters staged from the side and back of the house, while dense smoke rolled out the front door, at times shrouding the entire street in acrid smoke.
Firefighters dispatched multiple search crews equipped with self-contained breathing apparatuses into the residence. They discovered a woman inside at 11:56 p.m. who was then taken by the Ely Area Ambulance Service to Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
In the belief that a second victim might still be inside the structure, the fire department continued to search until 12:28 a.m. when Fire Chief David Marshall reported to St. Louis County Dispatch that the fire was “mostly out” and that the firefighters were switching to mop-up operations, pulling down portions of the ceiling and looking for remaining hot spots.
Chief Marshall reported that the fire appeared to have started in the basement, which was finished with a bedroom. Final determination of the cause, if possible, will be made by the state Fire Marshal’s Office following its investigation.
Public safety agencies responding to the blaze were the Ely, Babbitt, and Morse-Fall Lake Fire Departments, the Ely Police Department, and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.
The name of the deceased was not available at press time, pending notification of her family.