Late-February fire destroys Richville home; four residents and pets escape

All four occupants of a Richville home and the family pets escaped without serious injury after a structure fire late Sunday afternoon destroyed the residence in the 34,000 block of County Highway 14, officials said. Fire crews arriving to the scene found the house "fully engulfed" and worked to bring the blaze under control.

The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office said it was called to the residence at about 5:17 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. Dent, Otter Tail, Perham and Battle Lake fire departments responded, with Dent Rescue and Perham Ambulance assisting at the scene, according to local reporting and the sheriff’s office release. Battle Lake Fire Department supplied a photo of crews responding to the incident.

"Upon arrival, the residence was fully engulfed," the sheriff’s office statement said. Fire personnel from the multiple departments were able to control and extinguish the fire, but officials judged the structure to be a total loss; reporting described the home as destroyed by the blaze.

There were no serious injuries reported. "There were no injuries reported. One of the four occupants of the residence was evaluated by EMS on the scene and released," officials said. Emergency crews treated one person on site and released them; the other three occupants suffered no reported injury. Multiple accounts confirmed that "all occupants of the home, as well as the family pets, were able to safely get out of the structure."

Deputies said no foul play is suspected and the fire is under investigation by the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Investigators have not released a suspected cause or an estimate of property loss, and the investigation remains active.

Local outlets covering the incident posted brief community notices and imagery following the Feb. 22 call; a video summary published Feb. 23 included the 5:17 p.m. call time and the 34,000 block location cited by the sheriff’s office. County and state investigators are handling next steps for the probe and have not issued additional public findings as of Feb. 28.