WILLMAR -- Kevin Linstrom returned home from a short shopping trip early Friday evening to find his house filling with smoke.
The fire that broke out while he was gone caused extensive damage to the home and its contents at 717 Sixth St. S.W. in Willmar.
It has left Linstrom, his wife Amy and their sons, Blake, age 8, and Jaxs, age 5, without their home and most of their belongings. They are staying with friends.
The cause of the fire was determined to have been accidental. It had started on a stove in the first-floor kitchen and spread quickly to the upstairs and attic of the home. Fire Chief Marv Calvin said the fire caused an estimated $40,000 in damage to the home. The fire and smoke destroyed most of the contents of the home as well.
When he found the house filled with smoke, Linstrom ran to a neighbor's house and called 911 to summon help. Another neighbor had also noticed smoke from the fire and called 911. Firefighters were dispatched at 4:42 p.m.
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Calvin said that once the fire spread from the stove, it expanded and spread quickly through the older home.
Firefighters arriving at the scene entered the home through the back door and were able to douse the blaze in the kitchen.
However, by that point the fire had already taken hold in the upstairs and had made its way into storage materials kept in an attic area. Firefighters had a difficult time reaching the fire in the attic and the area under the roof.
Firefighters with the Pennock and Kandiyohi volunteer fire departments assisted at the scene. Also responding were officers with the Willmar Police Department and Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department and Kandiyohi Rescue Squad.
During the fight with the fire, firefighters were able to retrieve from the smoke-filled interior an American flag that had belonged to Kevin Linstrom's late father, Eugene. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran who had made his career as a Willmar police officer.
Calvin said a smoke detector in the home was working and sounding its alarm, but no one was inside the home when the fire broke out. He urged all residents to check their smoke detectors and replace batteries when needed.
