By: Kayla Williams / Asst. News Director 

KIMBALL, Minn.– Early morning on Thursday, August 27, a garage was destroyed after a child set a mattress on fire in the garage of a Kimball.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications received a report around 4:15 a.m. about a neighbor’s garage catching fire and spreading to nearby trees. Deputies noticed a neighboring garage had also caught fire.

Upon arriving at the scene, officials determined that the fire was accidentally caused by a resident living in the home. A child had set the mattress on fire trying to dispose of it and then used water to put it out, returning inside the home certain it was fully extinguished.

The dog in the home started barking shortly after, alerting the child who looked back and noticed that the garage was engulfed in flames.

All residents in the home made it safely out of the house and across the street. The garage is considered to be a total loss, including the vehicle and other items inside.