During the cold snap on Jan. 29, multiple fires in the Isanti Fire District kept firefighters busy fighting both the polar vortex as well as flames barreling out of homes.
The first of the fire calls came in at 8 p.m. Tuesday evening, while the wind chill was one of the coldest in 25 years, and despite the cold, the firefighters of Isanti Fire District went to work.
Dispatched to a well-engulfed house fire in Athens Township, the firefighters left the warmth of their homes, sped off to the fire hall, jumped into their gear and trucks, and headed to the scene.
“Upon arrival, we found a well-engulfed house fire with the fire venting through the roof,” said Lt. Zach Lundberg. “We had some difficulty accessing the home — it was an older home — and due to a remodel, accessing parts of the home was made more difficult.”
By the time of arrival, the fire had spread into hidden spaces in the roof lines, and with the way the roof lines were tied together it made fighting the fire more difficult, according to Lundberg.