UPDATE: VIDEO: $1 Million Home Destroyed in Troy Burne Fire; No Injuries
Fire crews from four departments responded to the blaze started by a lightning strike Saturday morning. The owners were not home at the time.
UPDATE (9:12 p.m., May 26, 2012): A lighting strike in the upscale Troy Burne development south of Hudson caused more than $1 million in damage to a home Saturday, as an estimated 60 firefighters from 10 departments battled the massive fire it sparked for more than three hours.
Crews from the River Falls Fire Department responded to calls shortly before 11:30 a.m. Saturday to reports of a lightning strike to the roof at 263 St. Anne's Parkway in the Town of Troy that started the home on fire. Residents were not home at the time; there were no injuries.
Firefighters arrived to find the roof of the home engulfed in flames and heavy smoke. Crews attempted to battle the blaze within the home, but high winds spread the fire and hampered efforts.
Property tax records indicate the home belongs to Norbert and Pamela Biderman. River Falls Fire Chief Scott Nelson said the home was valued at more than $1 million.
Records at Zillow.com indicate the home was listed at $995,000 in 2008. St. Croix County property tax records for 2011 assessed the value at $629,400 and the fair market value is $554,900.
Crews from River Falls, Hudson, Roberts, Prescott, Spring Valley, United, St. Joseph, Ellsworth, Lake Elmo, MN, and Lower St. Croix Valley—along with the St. Croix Sheriff's Department and River Falls Ambulance—assisted with the blaze.
The fire was at least one of three known fires sparked by lightning strikes in the Twin Cities region Saturday. A lighting strike caused a grass fire on Stags Leap Lane less than two miles north on Saturday; a home in Brooklyn Park, MN, was also destroyed in a fire sparked by a lightning strike Saturday.
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ORIGINAL POST (12:26 p.m., May 26, 2012): Crews from Hudson Fire Department along with multiple other departments are battling a blaze on St. Anne's Parkway in the Troy Burne development. The blaze began during a thunderstorm before noon on Saturday.
According to property tax records, the house belongs to Norbert and Pamela Biderman. There is no word yet on whether anyone was home when the fire began.
Dozens of onlookers watched from Lindsey Road and County Road F as firefighters attacked the blaze.
In This article
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Hudson Fire Department
222 Walnut St, Hudson, WI -
St. Croix County Government Center
1101 Carmichael Rd, Hudson, WI
Sara Tolbert
12:57 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Keeping the family in our prayers...
Micheal Foley
4:54 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
I went back after the Gov. Walker event downtown and shot some photos of the aftermath. They have been added to this post. Anyone else who has photos of videos can also add them to this post by clicking the "Upload Photos and Video" button.
Micheal Foley
6:17 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
WCCO now has a story about the fire:
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/05/26/1-million-hudson-home-struck-by-lightning/
I'm not sure where they got the $1 million figure. Tax records show an assessed value of $629,400 and a fair market value of $554,900. I wonder if they paid over $1 million during the real estate boom.
Alex Mundy
10:26 am on Sunday, May 27, 2012
As any Realtor would tell you, the value of the home is what someone would pay for it in today's market. Most homes are worth more than their assessed value, depending on when the latest assessment was done. And zillow.com is notoriously unreliable as a resource for fair market value. I'd talk to a Realtor familiar with the home and the neighborhood to get a realistic number.
Micheal Foley
6:41 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Around 4 p.m., another lightning strike caused a grass fire on Stags Leap Lane just south of Hudson. Luckily, it didn't hit a house and a fire crew, aided by a heavy downpour, put it out pretty quickly.
Troy Melhus
10:23 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Hi Mike: I was able to update this story here tonight with more details on the property as well as additional information from the River Falls Fire Department. I've included a copy of their press release to the media as well.
If anyone in the neighborhood has additional photos or details to share, please let us know.
Tom
8:43 am on Sunday, May 27, 2012
I'm real sick of hearing how a " million dollar house burned "seems the media really likes to do this 2 other storm fires and nobody says a word about value . All 3 are someones home and I feel sorry for all of their loss . Just real tired of hearing how this reported
Troy Melhus
4:32 pm on Sunday, May 27, 2012
Hi @Tom—re: covering this story because of the home value loss:
I actually thought this was worthy of coverage not because of the incidental value of this particular house or neighborhood, but because an estimated 60 firefighters from 10 neighboring departments all responded. That is remarkably significant—not to mention there was some pretty darn dramatic video footage of the fire.
But you're absolutely right, though, to note that EVERY house fire has major, significant impact on any number of people for the rest of their lives. We can, should, and will acknowledge that as often as we can.
We obviously can't be at every house fire, but will always do our best to cover as much for the community as we can.
-Troy
Jeremy L.
8:48 pm on Sunday, May 27, 2012
Troy, while your points are valid to be sure. I feel you missed the point of his reply. He was taking issue with the extensive amount of effort that had been given to evaluating this particular homes value. The story had noted that it was in an upscale neighborhood (Troy Burne) and that should have been more than enough detail as far as the value of the home goes. That is where the difference lies with the coverage of this tragedy vs. the others; not necessarily with the fact that you were unable to cover the others. Just that the focus seemed to be in the wrong place.
Micheal Foley
10:22 pm on Monday, May 28, 2012
Twin Cities Fire Wire has a great post about the fire: http://twincitiesfirewire.com/2012/05/26/fire-damages-massive-home-in-troy-twp-wi/
Julie Kovacic
9:50 am on Tuesday, May 29, 2012
God bless the fire fighters who kept this house from burning to the ground, and thanks to God that the residents weren't home at the time.
Sarah Calvert
4:04 pm on Tuesday, May 29, 2012
@Jeremy- I feel as if you missed the point. Stating that it is in the housing complex Troy Burne means nothing to me. Perhaps it has an impact to the small surrounding areas but to me I'm glad they put in the price, for I live in Texas. By stating the price it also puts a mental picture of how large this house is compared to a middle class home. Plus on that note, upscale could have a variety of meanings, it all depends on how each individual reading this article interprets the word. The more facts about the home the more I understand the significance of the raging fire that engulfed this specific house.
Derricks
8:06 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
A new start in life. Thank god you and your son were not home I understand the electrical charge on it's own would have been fatal. Our prayers are with you as you put the pieces of your lives back together. You know the solidarity of this neighborhood and there is no mountain that can't b moved to bring back your peace of mind and well being. Meg and Steve