2 weeks Ago By Austin Daily Herald, Minn.
AUSTIN, Minn. — A 32-year-old Austin woman is in custody in connection to a Tuesday afternoon house fire that sent one to the hospital. According to Austin Police Chief David McKichan Wednesday morning, Gelisha Rivers, a resident at the duplex, had been taken into custody in relation the blaze where one male was sent to Mayo Clinic Health System-Austin with undisclosed injuries.
Charges are pending a review by the Mower County Attorney's Office. ADVERTISEMENT According to Austin Fire Chief Jim McCoy, firefighters were dispatched to the scene at around 3:09 p.m.
on a call of a house fire. When firefighters arrived on the scene both flames and heavy smoke were seen coming from the structure on both the first and second floors of the duplex, with heavy damage visible at the front of the structure where firefighters were concentrating most of their early efforts. Prior to firefighters arrival, Austin Police officers discovered the male outside of the home and drug him to safety away from the house.
Residents of the other side of the duplex were also at home at the time, but were able to escape. McCoy went on to say that other residence of the duplex was also currently uninhabitable due to smoke damage. According to APD's Capt.
Todd Clennon in an email to the Herald Tuesday afternoon, it was confirmed that "the fire is suspicious and we are in the infancy of an investigation." He also confirmed that detectives had been assigned to the fire. As crews were cleaning up Tuesday evening, McCoy stated it was being treated as an incendiary fire and that the State Fire Marshal was on scene to investigate.
Both the Mapleview and Brownsdale fire departments responded for mutual aid. The case remains under investigation. ADVERTISEMENT © 2025 the Austin Daily Herald (Austin, Minn.
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