{"id":25619,"date":"2026-04-16T18:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T23:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=25619"},"modified":"2026-04-16T18:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T23:43:22","slug":"bemidji-fire-explosion-damages-nearby-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-fire-explosion-damages-nearby-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji Fire Explosion Damages Nearby Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Bemidji <a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\">(trfnews.i234.me)<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 A structure fire in Bemidji led to an explosion and damaged several buildings earlier today. Authorities said no one was inside the home at the time. No injuries were reported.<\/p>\n<h2>Fire Broke Out on Bixby Avenue<\/h2>\n<p>First responders were called to the area around 2:30 p.m. The fire was reported between the 15th and 16th block of Bixby Avenue. Crews arrived to find a house and garage on fire.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the danger, homes along the block were evacuated. Firefighters then worked to control the flames and protect nearby property. The blast and fire caused damage to more than one structure.<\/p>\n<p>Officials at the scene told <a href=\"https:\/\/lptv.org\/lakeland-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lakeland News<\/a> that no one was home when the fire started. That helped prevent a much worse outcome.<\/p>\n<h2>Neighbors Heard a Loud Blast<\/h2>\n<p>Several neighbors described a powerful explosion.<\/p>\n<p>Rob Kittleson said he lives a few blocks away. He said the blast sounded like a bomb. He said it was strong enough to shake his garage.<\/p>\n<p>Taneshia Drouillard said the boom was sudden and intense. She said the force pushed her hair back. She also said it appeared no one was home at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Angela Haasch said the fire spread with stunning speed. She said the nearby garage frame became visible within minutes. She said the fire moved faster than she expected.<\/p>\n<h2>Block Was Cleared for Safety<\/h2>\n<p>Emergency crews cleared the block as they fought the fire. That step helped protect neighbors from flames, smoke, and another possible blast.<\/p>\n<p>Scenes like this can change quickly. Fire crews often move fast to keep flames from reaching nearby homes, garages, and vehicles. In close neighborhoods, even a small delay can raise the risk.<\/p>\n<p>The cause of the fire had not been released at the time of this report. It is also not yet clear where the fire started. Investigators are expected to examine the scene after it is safe.<\/p>\n<p>Residents looking for local updates can check the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ci.bemidji.mn.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">City of Bemidji<\/a> website. Fire safety information is also available from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfpa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Fire Protection Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Investigation Continues<\/h2>\n<p>For now, the key facts remain clear. A fire broke out on Bixby Avenue. An explosion followed. Several structures were damaged. Homes were evacuated. No injuries were reported.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities are expected to release more details after the investigation moves forward.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for <a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\">TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_25630\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25630\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-25630\" src=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bemidji-Fire-Explosion-Damages-Nearby-Homes-300x200.png\" alt=\"Bemidji Fire Explosion Damages Nearby Homes\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bemidji-Fire-Explosion-Damages-Nearby-Homes-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bemidji-Fire-Explosion-Damages-Nearby-Homes-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bemidji-Fire-Explosion-Damages-Nearby-Homes-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bemidji-Fire-Explosion-Damages-Nearby-Homes.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25630\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bemidji Fire Explosion Damages Nearby Homes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bemidji (trfnews.i234.me) \u2014 A structure fire in Bemidji led to an explosion and damaged several buildings earlier today. Authorities said no one was inside the home at the time. No injuries were reported. Fire Broke Out on Bixby Avenue First responders were called to the area around 2:30 p.m. The fire was reported between the&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-fire-explosion-damages-nearby-homes\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Bemidji Fire Explosion Damages Nearby Homes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[11863,1224,16445,12158,16444,772,2405,6580,896,915,10462,916,922,9896,16447,16446],"class_list":["post-25619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-beltrami-county-fire","tag-bemidji","tag-bemidji-explosion","tag-bemidji-fire","tag-bixby-avenue-fire","tag-crime","tag-damages","tag-explosion","tag-fire","tag-garage-fire","tag-homes","tag-house-fire","tag-minnesota-fire-news","tag-nearby","tag-neighborhood-evacuation","tag-structure-fire-bemidji","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25631,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25619\/revisions\/25631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}