Stearns County Home Damaged In Fire, Pet Rescued

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities say a home in Stearns County was destroyed by fire Thursday afternoon, and nobody was injured.

A nearby resident called the Stearns County Sheriff's Office about the fire at about 2:11 p.m. at 31705 160th Avenue in Collegeville Township. When deputies arrived, the home was fully engulfed with the roof partially collapsed. Authorities determined that nobody was home at the time of the fire, but pets were inside the residence.

Firefighters were able to rescue one of the pets from the home.

There were no injuries fighting the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The Avon Fire Department was assisted at the scene by fire departments from St. Joseph, Cold Spring and Albany. The State Fire Marshal's Office was at the scene to investigate the cause.