Rochester home a complete loss after early Monday morning fire

(ABC 6 News) – A southwest Rochester home is a complete loss after an early morning fire on Monday.

The Rochester Fire Department was called to a home on the 2100 block of West Place Southwest at 12:40 a.m. By the time crews got to the scene, the fire had already spread throughout the whole house.

The house belongs to a family of four. A woman and two kids were home when the fire started. They were able to leave the house safely and there were no injuries.

“There were alerted to the fire by working smoke detectors,” said K.C. Clark, motor operator with the Rochester Fire Department.

“In this case, the family was alerted while they were asleep by working smoke detectors. In my opinion, their lives were probably saved because of that.”

The house was significantly damaged on the main floor and the roof was fully burned off. A portion of the basement is unburned but has significant water damage. Crews worked for two hours to put out the fire and the hot spots but are still working to figure out what caused the fire.

Because of the high winds, the homes on both sides were evacuated. At least one home has siding damage.

Rochester Police, Mayo Clinic Ambulance, Rochester Public Utilities, Minnesota Energy, and the American Red Cross were on the scene.