Man found dead in Eden Prairie house fire

A man was found dead in a house fire on Sunday night in the 12000 block of Oxbow Drive near Homeward Hills Road. 

Eden Prairie Fire Chief Scott Gerber said on Monday that a call reporting a structure fire was received at 7:17 p.m. Sunday. Initial police and fire responders arrived to find smoke coming from the second floor of the residence. Officers attempted to enter the building based on information about a potentially trapped individual inside the home. However, their efforts to enter the building were unsuccessful.

According to Gerber, the first command officer to arrive, who was one of the chief officers of the department, entered the house wearing the appropriate personal protective gear. Inside, the officer discovered the body of a deceased adult male.

After additional fire crews arrived at the scene, Gerber stated that they successfully extinguished the fire. He said there was damage to the second floor of the home, but it was contained within that specific area. No one else was present in the house during the incident.

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“Certainly our thoughts and prayers and condolences are with the family as the neighborhood and the community as they all work through processing these events that happened last evening,” Gerber said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, with both local fire investigators and the State Fire Marshal’s division involved, according to Gerber. The identity of the man is expected to be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office.

Additional fire crews were called in for support from the Bloomington, Minnetonka, Hopkins, and Excelsior fire departments. Gerber said no responders were injured during the incident

This incident follows a series of house fires in Eden Prairie, including the death of a woman in a house fire on Rustic Hills Drive in April, the destruction of two neighboring houses on Lee Drive near Franlo Road on June 1 and a fire at a house on Broadmoore Drive on June 13.

Gerber said timing is the only common factor among these fires. He advised homeowners to have a well-practiced escape plan, regularly test smoke alarms and change batteries, and be aware of the increased fire hazards associated with modern construction materials.

“Ensuring people can get out of their homes promptly is really important to us,” he said.