Staff photo by Fritz Busch Sleepy Eye firefighters Alicia Zuhlsdorf, left; and Scott Braun hold a fire hose on a fire while a track excavator removes debris at the Dean Domeier residence south of Sleepy Eye Wednesday. Sleepy Eye firefighters initially answered the fire call at 3:37 p.m. Mutual aid was later provided by firefighters from Comfrey, Springfield and Hanska.

SLEEPY EYE — Rural Sleepy Eye resident Dean Domeier said he was burning brush Wednesday afternoon when the fire quickly consumed an abandoned residence, old cars and a grove of trees just south of CR 24, a couple miles west of State Highway 4.

“I was just burning a brush pile. The next thing I knew the building (abandoned house) was on fire,” said Domeier.

The Sleepy Eye Fire Department received the fire call at 3:37 p.m. Wednesday and responded to the Domeier residence.

Sleepy Eye First Assistant Fire Chief Scott Krzmarzick said mutual aid was requested and received from Springfield, Comfrey and Hanska Fire Departments.

“We’ve got four tankers, four grass rigs, a side by side and rescue truck,” Krzmarzick said.

By 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, tanker trucks were busy hauling water on paved and gravel roads from Sleepy Eye to the rural residence. Firefighters trained fire hoses on the fire that became a mass of white and gray smoke.

Heavy equipment including a track excavator and other gear from Heiderscheidt Construction was used to remove fire debris in the grove that contained a number of old cars.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) controlled several nearby intersections near the fire.

Krzmarzick said the actual cause of the fire has not been determined. No injuries were reported.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reported a high fire danger in much of Minnesota including southern, central and northwest parts of the state Wednesday.