Stanton Township home burns to the ground

A fire destroyed a Stanton Township house Tuesday afternoon, the Cannon Falls Police Department reported.

Crews were dispatched to the home owned by Dennis and Jan Dunker at about 2:05 p.m., Assistant Fire Chief Todd Anderson said. No one was home when the fire started, and by the time crews arrived on scene, flames were coming out of the roof.

Anderson said they initially tried fighting the blaze from inside the house, but once firefighters got inside, the ceiling fell on them.

“There was no saving it,” he said. “It was a total loss, basically.”

About 35 volunteer firefighters — 25 from Cannon Falls Fire Department and 10 from Randolph — were on scene about six hours, Anderson said.

While temperatures hovered in the single digits Tuesday afternoon, Anderson said the cold really didn’t affect the firefighters’ work.

“We were able to keep everything flowing, and we never froze up,” he said. “We were able to continually put water on it.”

However, winds gusting between 15 to 20 mph did make the fire harder to put out and contain. In addition, the house was shingled with cedar shakes, Anderson said, which burn quickly.

No one was injured in the fire and no surrounding buildings were damaged.

It’s not yet clear what caused the fire, though Anderson said it started in the house’s second level, where bedrooms and bathrooms were located. The fire marshal is investigating, he said.

Dennis Dunker did not wish to comment on the fire, adding that he is working with insurers.

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