Update: Investigation Continues Into Children’s Home Fire

ST. CLOUD -- The investigation into what started the fire at the St. Cloud Children's Home continues.

St. Cloud Fire Marshal Mike Post says so far they've been able to rule out lightning as a possible cause, but they haven't determined what did ignite the fire.

He says the fire was in one of two connected buildings surrounded by a courtyard, with substantial damage done to the east building. There is no damage estimate yet. That building was being remodeled with a small office staff working there.

Catholic Charities released a statement Wednesday saying they had been a longtime tenant of the St. Cloud Children's Home owned by the Diocese of St. Cloud. However, the Diocese sold the property in the fall of 2020. In preparation for the transition to new ownership, Catholic Charities relocated the last of their programs to a new location in Sauk Rapids in December.

The Diocese says the building was recently bought by Newport Healthcare. We do have a message in to that company to learn more about the damage from the fire and their plans moving forward.

The fire was reported just after 2:30 Wednesday morning.

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