Mantorville fire claims 1 life, sends 5 to hospital

A deadly fire in Mantorville last week killed one person, sent five others to the hospital and reignited over the weekend completely destroying the Chestnut Apartments.
The fatality was identified as 68-year-old Cynthia Ferguson, a resident of the building. Five others were transported to Mayo Clinic Saint Marys in Rochester with two of those residents initially listed as being in critical condition. No names of the five individuals have been released.
Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose reported that county dispatchers were called by multiple residents of the building shortly after 6:30 a.m. who reported they were trapped in their apartments. Initial 911 calls, he said, reported the fire started in Apartment 5.
Rose said when law enforcement arrived they reported heavy smoke coming from the building. Officers entered the building, Rose said, and along with firefighters were able to everyone out of the 12-unit apartment building.
Fire Departments from Mantorville, Kasson, Dodge Center and Byron responded to the original call along with the Dodge Center Ambulance Service, Hayfield Ambulance, Mayo Ambulance Service and the Minnesota State Patrol.
Firefighters were called back to the building, which had been heavily damaged on Thursday, early Saturday morning when the fire re-ignited and completely destroyed the structure.
Officials from the State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the cause of the blaze.
In the aftermath of the fire residents of Mantorville, Kasson and Dodge County stepped up to help the victims.
The Red Cross and Semcac provided temporary housing and assistance to those displaced by the fire and donations of clothing have also been coming in for the residents.
Two GoFundMe pages have also been set up to raise money to help them with financial needs.
Shelby Jacobson, who used to live at the Chestnut Apartments and was friends with many of the residents, started a GoFundMe page to raise funds. Jacobson said on the page that money raised will be used to provide Walmart gift cards that the residents can use to buy food, essentials for themselves, toys for the kids or other needed items.
As of Monday night Jacobson’s GoFundMe page had raised $3,135 of her $15,000 goal
A second GoFundMe account was set up by Michelle Sontag to raise money for the Ferguson family to help pay for Cynthia Ferguson’s funeral and medical expenses.
In her message on GoFundMe, Sontag said that Ferguson has been battling cancer for some time.
That fund had raised $1,070 by Monday night.