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Updated: St. Paul Apartment Fire Leaves One Dead
Twin Cities Fire Wire
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Updated Sunday morning: Officials say the resident, a 34-year-old male, died from his injuries. The fire is classified as intentional and investigators are still digging into the details of the fire.
June 4- St. Paul firefighters rescued a man who is in serious condition after an apartment fire early Saturday morning.
Crews were called to 1533 Woodbridge St., the Woodbridge Terrace Apartments, at 12:15 a.m.
Engine 22 arrived to find smoke showing from the lower level of the three-story building that contains 24 units. They stretched a pre-connect to the fire apartment.
Ladder 22 began ventilation as residents rushed from the building. Engine 17 provided a backup attack line.
“The firefighters got into the apartment and quickly knocked down the fire,” according to St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard.
As crews were performing the primary searches, “they found the man, believed to be about 30, on the bed.” Firefighters removed him from the building and begin rendering medical assistance.
He was transported by Medic 8 to Regions Hospital. Zaccard said he was in serious condition, suffering from burns and smoke.
The fire was contained to the room of origin, but the entire apartment sustained smoke and heat damage. Residents were allowed back in the building within an hour.
Investigators are still at the scene trying to determine the cause.
Assignment: Engines 22, 17, 18, Ladder 22, Squad 1, Chief 2. RIT Assignment: Engine 8, Ladder 18, Medic 8, Medic 4, Squad 2, Chief 1. Special Called: Squad 3.
Woman Found Dead at St. Paul Kitchen Fire
May 1 – Firefighters found the body of an 85-year-old woman after they were called to a kitchen fire in St. Paul on Monday afternoon.
Fire crews were dispatched at 2:15 p.m. to a reported kitchen fire at 1472 Hamline Ave. N. in Como Park.
The fire was out when crews arrived.
They found the body of the woman, who was already deceased, fire official said.
Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire. The medical examiner was called to examine the cause of death.
- Assignment: Engines 13, 23, 22, Ladder 20, Squad 2, Medic 18 and Chief 2
Edina Fire Chief Talks About Operations at Fatal House Fire
April 18 – Edina Fire Chief Marty Scheerer talked with Twin Cities Fire Wire today about Monday morning’s house fire that claimed the life of a 54-year-old woman.
“It was a routine fire, except for the tragic loss of the resident,” Scheerer said.
Edina fire crews were called to 5300 block of Oaklawn Avenue at 4:47 a.m.
A police officer, who is also a paid-on-call firefighter in Edina arrived moments before firefighters and performed a quick size-up of the home. He found heavy smoke from throughout the from the 1 1/2-story home and flames showing from the A/B-corner in the basement.0
As Edina Engine 83 arrived, residents informed responders that three people occupy the home and were home. In rapid succession, the second and third alarms were called.
Engine 83’s crews stretched a handline in the front door as Richfield Engine 1 laid a supply line to Engine 83.
“As firefighters made their way in the front door, they found the victim and removed her to an ambulance.”
As crews made their way inside the structure, they encountered an area where the floor burned through. They retreated and gained entry through an egress window in the basement on the D-side of the home.
“We wanted to get a hold on the fire,” Scheerer said. “We had found the one victim and because of the time of the day, we wanted to try to find the other two who were supposed to be home.”
Firefighters made a push into the basement and contained the fire to the basement area.
As crews performed primary and secondary searches of the home, they found that the fire burned through the floor in two rooms. Scheerer estimates a hole about two feet in diameter burned through the living room floor in the front of the home.
A second hole, about six feet in diameter, burned through the kitchen on the B/C-corner of the home.
The fire was declared under control in about 30 minutes, but crews had extensive overhaul work to do. The flames burned through the exterior walls on the A/B-corner of the home and crews had to tear through lathe and plaster to stop the spread eof fire.
Firefighters from Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Richfield and St. Louis Park responded to the fire, along with Hennepin EMS. The Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office was called into to assist with the investigation of the fire.
Scheerer said that the department recently brought on a fire chaplain. “He handled the situation really well,” Scheerer said of the chaplain’s interactions with the victim’s family.
“He was spectacular and really helped the family and assisted us in dealing with the tragic situation at hand.”
Related:
Woman Dies in Edina House Fire
April 18 – One woman died in an early-morning house fire in Edina Monday.
Firefighters were called to 5300 block of Oaklawn Avenue around 5 a.m.
“Crews arrived within minutes to discover heavy smoke and flames from the north side of the home,” KSTP-TV reported.
The fire reached three alarms, bringing firefighters from Blooomington, Eden Prarie and Richfield to the scene for assistance.
KARE-TV reported that the fire was likely burning for over an hour before firefighter’s were called to the scene.
Four firefighters were treated at the scene for minor injuries, Hennepin EMS spokesman Christopher Kummer told Twin Cities Fire Wire.
Related:
Video: Blaine Mobile Home Fire Claims 1 Life
April 10 – An early-morning fire that gutted a mobile home claimed the life of a man inside the structure.
Spring Lake Park – Blaine – Mounds View firefighters were called to the 9100 block of St. Petersburg Street NE around 2 a.m.
They found the structure fully involved.
1 Year Later: Minneapolis Fire Claims Six
April 2 – If you drive by 3001 Lake St. today, there is nothing more than a vacant lot.
One year ago today, Minneapolis firefighters fought in vain to rescue several residents who were trapped in a raging fire above McMahon’s Pub at 3001 Lake Street. Three adults and three children died in the tragic blaze.
Several firefighters were caught in what was believed to have been a flashover. The videos posted below show the volume of fire that crews faced shortly after arrival.
After being forced to withdraw from the building, firefighters poured water into the structure to tame the flames. They made their way back into the structure, but it was gutted.
Dogs were brought in that day to help find the remains of those thought to be missing.
The Star Tribune reported on several code violations that were found in the bar just days before the fire broke out. You can read the story here.
It was Minneapolis’ deadliest fire in more than two decades.
Related:
Two Dead in Ham Lake Fire
Two people died in a Ham Lake house fire on Friday night, according to KARE-TV.
Fire crews were called to 3551 Crosstown Blvd. Northeast about 8:30 p.m. Ham Lake Captain 21 arrived to find the home was fully involved.
Firefighters employed a defensive attack and a tanker was called from East Bethel.
Early this morning, several state response teams were called to assist the Anoka County Fire Investigation Team.
Kitchen Fire Claims St. Paul Man
A man died following a house fire in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood on Monday night.
Fire crews were called to 754 Charles Ave. about 10:30 p.m. A neighbor reported seeing flames from the home.
Firefighters arrived and quickly contained the fire to the kitchen of the 2 1/2-story home.
Firefighters found the victim in the kitchen and removed him from the structure. The 60-year-old was dead at the scene.
Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said that three of the four burners on the stove were found in the on position by investigators. The fire spread from the stove to the cabinets.
The resident appeared to be a hoarder, Zaccard said. The home was filled with belongings and other debris, which slowed search efforts.
This is the first fire fatality in St. Paul.
- Assignment: Engines 18, 22, 8, Ladder 8, Squad 2, Chief 2. RIT Assignment: Ladder 22, Squad 3, Medic 17 and Chief 1
Duluth High-Rise Fire Claims One Life
A man that firefighters rescued from a Duluth high-rise fire on Friday night has died. Smoking materials are blamed for igniting the fire.
Duluth firefighters were called to Tri Towers, a 14-story apartment building at 222 North 2nd Ave. East just before 9 p.m.
Crews found fire in a 13th floor apartment when they arrived. The fire was held in check by the building’s sprinkler system.
Firefighters rescued a man from the apartment. “His burns were extensive due to his immediate proximity to the fire,” Assistant Fire Chief Richard Mattson said in a press release.
He was transported to Essentia Medical Center for treatment. The burn injuries were so severe that he was flown to Region’s Hospital in St. Paul for additional treatment.
He later died of his injuries. The department has not released the victim’s name.
The Duluth Fire Marshal’s Office reported that “ignition by smoking materials” caused the fire.
Officials say that an April 2009 fire in the same apartment was caused by the fire victim and it was attributed to the disposal of smoking materials.
According to a September article in the Duluth Tribune News, Tri Towers residents will be banned from smoking in the building this spring. Four of the six Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Authority buildings banned smoking in 2010. Tri Towers and one other building will be smoke free starting in May.
The fire was contained to one apartment. Damages were estimated at $40,000.
Twenty firefighters, staffing three engines, one quint, one ladder and one rescue responded to the fire.
Twin Cities Fire Wire 