Man dead, 2 teens treated after Andover house fire

Authorities were at the scene of a deadly house fire in Andover Tuesday morning.

According to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, a 35-year-old man died as a result of the fire at a home on the 14300 block of Woodbine Street. The sheriff's office later identified him as Chad Riley Garner.

Theresa Shumway lives across the street and told 5 EYEWITNESS News she was startled by a loud boom around 3:30 am.

"The fire was flaming out of both sides of the house," Shumway recalled. "I had never seen fire like that."

She said she was devastated to learn her kindhearted neighbor, a local appliance repairman, was killed.

"Chad would run over, 'What do you need done? What's wrong? What's going on?' Chad was always there to help with anything," Shumway said. "My dryer went out once so he came over and it was an easy fix. He would come over and fix it. That's the kind of neighbor he was."

Two teenagers, a 16-year-old and a 13-year-old, were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, authorities added. Their injuries were not believed to be serious, and authorities said Tuesday afternoon that they'd been released from the hospital.

Additionally, a 39-year-old woman was able to safely exit the house, authorities said.

The Anoka County Sheriff's Office reported the call for the fire came in at about 3:35 a.m. Authorities said the fire started in an attached garage before it spread to the house.

Tim Bachtle lives next door. He said Garner was a family man and a hard worker.

"It's sad. It's tragic. Lost a good guy," Bachtle said. "Just all-around a great guy, nice neighbor, always willing to help."

The sheriff's office said there aren't any indications of anything suspicious.

The Minnesota State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.

A KSTP crew is gathering more information at the scene. Stay with KSTP.com and 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS for updates.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article reported the man who had died was 36 years old, per information from authorities. Authorities issued a correction that the man was 35 years old. The article has been updated.