Fire damages house in southwest Brainerd
A southwest Brainerd home was damaged Wednesday night after a fire started in a laundry room.
About 9:30 p.m. Brainerd firefighters responded to the house at the corner of Southwest Fifth and Ethel streets.
Smoke billowed from the front door, windows around the house and seams in the roof, though no flames were visible.
Brainerd Fire Battalion Chief Kevin Stunek said firefighters were able to contain the fire to the laundry room of the house.
"There's heavy smoke and probably a lot of smoke damage," Stunek said. Firefighters aired out the house and cut part of the siding to see if fire had gotten into the walls and insulation.
A Brainerd firefighter removed siding Wednesday near the laundry room at a Southwest 5th Street residence that sustained smoke damage. Brainerd Dispatch/Clint Wood
The cause of the fire wasn't immediately known.
Stunek said the owner was at home working on the computer when she smelled smoke. No one was injured in the fire, he said.
Brainerd Police officers blocked off the streets surrounding the house fire.
Neighbors stood in doorways, on porches and on street corners to get a look at the smoldering house.
MATT ERICKSON can be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.