(PHOTOS) Firefighters Extinguish Westbrooke Patio Homes Fire

(UPDATED 2:34 p.m. Sept. 13) Hopkins firefighters extinguished a small fire that started Tuesday afternoon in a unit near Landmark Trail and 11th Avenue.

A roof fan that shorted out caused the fire, said Police Sgt. Michael Glassberg. The fire was confined to the tube in which the fan sat.

Hopkins Firefighters arrived within minutes and easily extinguished the flames. After doing so, they cut open the roof on the unit to ensure nothing was smoldering unseen.

Fire departments from neighboring communities also responded as part of a system in which they automatically respond whenever there’s a confirmed structure fire.

Total damage is not yet known. No people or pets were harmed in the fire.

“In the big picture, we consider it minor,” Glassberg said.

Neighbor Dee Carlson first learned of the fire when she heard the fire trucks outside her home. She looked out and saw smoke but not much else.

“You could see a little bit of the flames, but it wasn’t big or anything,” Carlson said.