DETROIT LAKES — A residence and attached garage at Country Fields Greenhouse in rural Detroit Lakes caught fire on June 10, causing visible flames and smoke that could be seen from County Road 21.

No one was injured as a result of the fire or firefighting efforts, said Ryan Swanson, fire chief of Detroit Lakes.

"We have heavy fire damage in the entryway and then as the fire grows, it goes up and it hits the eaves and it walks across the roof line, which then gets into the attic voids," said Swanson. "This property has a steel-lined roof on it, so (sawing) is made more difficult because we can't just go up onto the roof, cut a hole into the roof, to make an access point, so we had to do a lot of cutting on the gable end to try to open those up to gain access."

Swanson added the roof in the garage was knee-walled, which separated the floor area into three separate sections that needed to be accessed.

The fire was called in at about 10 a.m., he said, and the first units were on-scene within about five minutes.

The Wolf Lake Fire Department arrived to the scene with their attic vacuum to suck the remaining insulation out of the roof and attic area of the home, to ensure the fire wouldn't flare back up, Swanson said.

"When (mutual aid firefighters) are working together, it's almost like they are one team, so it's really good to have this in our communities," he said.

Swanson noted that enrollment at the Detroit Lakes Fire Department is down to 23 members from the full-staffing level of 30, which makes it more difficult to battle fires without calling for mutual aid from other towns.

"Other communities are struggling too, their memberships are dropping as well, so that's why we're pulling in more and more mutual aid," he said. "Three years ago, we would have never even pulled in mutual aid for an in-town, city call ... now, when we're about a third of our department down, we are looking for that extra help as fast as possible."

The greenhouse seemed to be unaffected by the fire at the residence, however, the growing operation does receive its water from the house. Swanson said they are working to secure water trucks to feed the greenhouse temporarily before the water and its electrical water pump is turned back on.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office.