re F+ SAFETY
prevention Battling house fire OCTOBER 8-14, 2023
during a blizzard Walz grateful to emergency personnel BY CAROL MOORMAN STAFF WRITER
Normally, it takes Melrose firefighters about eight minutes to respond to an emergency call in Meire Grove. Just after midnight, Feb. 23, in the middle of a blizzard, it took firefighters almost triple the time as they busted through snowdrifts to get to a house fire on the Ethan Walz property along Highway 4 in Meire Grove. Walz sat down Sept. 17 to talk about the incident. He recalled the early morning of the fire when a smoke detector woke him. “I smelled smoke and saw flames in the living room,” he said. He alerted his roommate, who was on the second floor, and they and two dogs got out safely, snow swirling around them. They called for help. Law enforcement was
the first to arrive, followed by firefighters. “I was surprised the fire department got there so fast because it was so bad out,” Walz said. Melrose Fire Chief Tom Budde said, as he drove in his truck to the fire hall after the department received the 12:26 a.m. call from Stearns County dispatch, he immediately requested mutual aid from the Sauk Centre Fire Department because of the weather conditions and the reported extent of the fire. Adam Schmidt, a Melrose firefighter who was working dispatch in St. Cloud for the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department that morning, had also been aware of the weather and had lined up resources if a second call came in for the Melrose department. Budde was in the first fire truck leaving the hall.
PHOTO BY CAROL MOORMAN
Homeowner Ethan Walz (left) meets Sept. 20 with Melrose Fire Chief Tom Budde in front of the foundation of Walz’ new house being built in Meire Grove. Seven months ago, it was a much different day, weather-wise, when Melrose, Sauk Centre and Freeport fire departments responded Feb. 23, during a blizzard, to a house fire that severely damaged Walz’ two-story structure.
The fire department’s full fleet, including the aerial truck, was responding, which Budde said is typical for structure fires.
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