Brainerd fire chief helps his Nisswa neighbor and friend fight house fire

NISSWA — When you’re a firefighter and you wake up in the middle of night to find your house on fire, you do what anyone should do — call 911.

But when your friend and fellow firefighter lives just a few blocks away, you call him too.

That’s what Joe Hall, assistant Nisswa fire chief, did Thursday, Feb. 23, and he’s forever grateful to Brainerd Fire Chief Tim Holmes for responding immediately to the Hall family home on Lower Roy Lake Road in Nisswa.

“A special thanks to Tim Holmes for running over there right away and helping out, running inside while the family was still leaving to help out,” Hall said.

“By him getting there when he did and helping me with the fire extinguishers on the front end, it definitely helped save more stuff in the house,” he said.

The family was able to save irreplaceable mementos from their children’s rooms.

Hall isn’t sure what woke him up that night, but he immediately knew something wasn’t right.

He woke up to a crackling sound, looked out the window and saw the fire’s reflection in the snow, Fire Chief Shawn Bailey said the day after the fire.

“It looked like daylight outside,” Bailey said.

It seems the family’s wood stove sparked a fire in the chimney, Bailey said.

Hall, his wife, Sonja, and their four children — Hakan, 14; Axel, 11; Anja, 4; and Bergen, 2 — safely evacuated the home, which is a total loss with water and smoke damage, Bailey said.

Hall said the top half of the house burned off.

Smoke detectors did not go off as smoke never entered the living area, Bailey said.

“The roof was burning off,” he said.

“Upon my arrival, there was significant smoke and flames from the roof area,” Bailey said.

In addition to 16 Nisswa firefighters, 10 Pequot Lakes firefighters, 13 Mission Township firefighters along with the Nisswa and Breezy Point police departments and North Ambulance responded at 2:09 a.m. and were on scene for five hours.

Winds were 40 mph with heavy snowfall that night.

“The conditions were not favorable,” Bailey said.

The firefighting community and beyond stepped up to help the Halls.

While fighting the fire, firefighters started unloading family photo albums to save them. They and others from the community returned at 8 a.m. Thursday to salvage whatever else they could.

A meal train was set up through Timberwood Church. Anyone who wants to help the Hall family can email forthehallfamily@gmail.com or visit "Support the Halls" on gofundme.com.

“It’s amazing how it all unfolded and how the community is willing to help our own,” Bailey said.

The Halls, who are staying with Joe’s parents in Nisswa, are also grateful for the outpouring of community support.

“We thank the community and all the people who have reached out to myself and my family, along with the guys on the Nisswa Fire Department, Pequot, Mission,” Hall said.

“We thank friends, and the support from Timberwood Church. The people who helped after to try to salvage things,” he said.

Always the firefighter, Hall advised people to check that their smoke alarms work, know where their fire extinguishers are and make sure to have an evacuation plan on how to get out of the house, where to go and where to meet in case of a fire.

Nancy Vogt, editor, may be reached at 218-855-5877 or nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Nancy.