Crews responding to Maple Grove house fire find woman dead inside

Crews found heavy flames when they arrived on the scene and could not enter the home, officials said.

January 10, 2020 at 10:17AM
Maple Grove fire crews found heavy flames when they arrived on the 6700 block of N. Zinnia Lane and could not enter the home until they had fought the blaze from outside.
Maple Grove fire crews found heavy flames when they arrived on the 6700 block of N. Zinnia Lane and could not enter the home until they had fought the blaze from outside. (Vince Tuss/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Flames were shooting out of a Maple Grove home Thursday evening when fire department crews arrived and found the homeowner, a woman in her 70s who used a wheelchair, dead inside.

Neighbors reported the fire at a home in the 6700 block of N. Zinnia Lane around 7 p.m., said Maple Grove Fire Chief Tim Bush.

Flames were heavy and crews could not enter the home until they had fought the blaze from outside.

The homeowner lived by herself, the fire spokesman said.

"The fire was not survivable from the outset," Bush said.

Police and Hennepin County fire investigators are looking into the cause of the blaze.

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Ryan Faircloth

Politics and government reporter

Ryan Faircloth covers Minnesota politics and government for the Star Tribune.

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