Update: This story includes information released by the city on Friday afternoon.
In the early hours of Friday morning, a fire tore through two neighboring single-family homes in the 10000 block of Lee Drive near Franlo Road.
As investigators continue their on-scene work, the cause of the fire remains unknown, according to Eden Prairie Fire Chief Scott Gerber.
“That will likely take some time,” stated Gerber.
The fire department received an alert about the incident around 12:30 a.m. Upon arrival, fire crews were faced with intense flames already consuming both structures.
“Our crews did a great job to try to control those as best they could,” commended Gerber. “The fire was far advanced; it had heavy fire content upon our arrival, and crews were able to stop it at those two structures.”
On Friday afternoon, the city reported that two adults and two children from the two houses had escaped and were transported to Hennepin Healthcare for non-life-threatening injuries. Three victims have been treated and released, while one adult is still undergoing treatment for burns.
According to the city, both homes sustained significant damage, and nearby structures were also affected by the fire. As a precautionary measure, the surrounding neighborhood was briefly evacuated. The fire victims have since secured temporary housing.
Gerber said one Eden Prairie firefighter was also treated and released for injuries sustained during the firefighting efforts.
Two dogs and three cats remain unaccounted for, according to the city.
Gerber addressed reports from several neighbors who claimed to have heard explosions.
“We’re hearing those stories as well, but we’re not able to confirm one way or the other with that,” he said. “That’s absolutely part of what our investigators will look into … but we’ve heard that from several neighbors as well that they heard the explosions.”
Multiple fire departments, including Bloomington, Chanhassen, Edina, Excelsior, Hopkins, Minnetonka and St. Louis Park, assisted Eden Prairie in the response. Additional agencies assisting on the scene included Hennepin EMS, CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy.
Joanna Werch Takes contributed to this report.
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