An early morning fire Tuesday destroyed one home and damaged two others in the Chevalle development along the Chaska-Victoria border.

According to Chaska Fire Chief Tim Wiebe, the Victoria Fire Department was the first to respond to the fire at 3923 Valencia Lane after a passerby on County Road 11 and 86th Street called it in. The Chaska Fire Department received a call to respond just after 12:30 a.m.

“By the time we got there it was going pretty good,” said Wiebe, noting that fire crews from Carver, Chanhassen and Waconia also responded to the blaze.

“The middle house was fully involved,” he added. “There was fire everywhere.”

The fire spread from 3923 to the adjacent homes on either side at 3917 and 3929 Valencia Lane. Though all three homes were occupied at the time, there were no injuries reported.

“The good news is that no residents and no fire fighters were injured,” said Wiebe.

“We got some hamsters out,” he added.

Wiebe said it is too early to determine the cause of the fire.

“There’s so much damage, it’s going to be hard to tell,” he said.

According to Wiebe, the house were the fire initially began will likely be ruled a total loss. The house at 3917 Valencia Lane also suffered extensive damage in the attic and garage.

In addition, the fire melted the vinyl siding at 3929 Valencia Lane. Fire restoration workers were busy Tuesday afternoon removing the damaged siding.

Wiebe said that there is concern over the materials used to construct new housing like these models that were completed late last year. The lightweight construction materials, including vinyl siding, coupled with the close proximity of homes to one another can contribute to bigger fires in a short amount of time.

“We’re aware that one house fire could become three quickly,” he said. “Here was a good example.”

"That's not just a Chaska thing, though," he added. "We see it across the country."

Both Chaska’s fire marshal and the state fire marshal were reportedly on hand Tuesday to investigate the fire.

The Chaska Fire Department also responded to a garage fire Monday night. Wiebe said that they were called to a townhome on Lake Shore Circle around 8 p.m. to deal with a fire that had started inside a garbage can.

“It’s a good reminder for Chaska residents to check their smoke detectors,” Wiebe said.

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer