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Video: Cottage Grove Firefighters Tackle Basement Fire
Twin Cities Fire Wire
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
This story was updated and additional photos and videos were added Friday night.
May 13 – Cottage Grove firefighters doused a smoky basement fire on Friday afternoon.
Fire crews were called to the 8700 block of Ivywood Avenue around 3:30 for a report of flames coming from the closet in a bedroom.
Cottage Grove Ladder 26 found heavy smoke from the two-story, split-level home when they arrived. The occupants had escaped the home.
Deputy Chief Rick Redenuis arrived moments later and he told Twin Cities fire that the window in the fire room failed and flames were now showing from the lower level room.
The crew from Ladder 26 deployed a 1 3/4-inch hoseline through the garage into the home. Engine 45 stretched a backup line.
Redenuis said that crews encountered extremely high heat conditions as they made their way into the basement.
The fire was knocked down in about 10 minutes.
Crews performed ventilation on both levels of the home and the thick brown smoke pushed from the upper level for a few minutes.
Mutual aid was called from St. Paul Park.
Firefighters removed much of the area around the fire room windows on the exterior to check for extension. The aerial from Ladder 26 was used to check for extension along the top of the home.
Redenuis said the basement suffered heavy heat damage and the entire home suffered smoke damage.
Small, Smoky Fire Contained at Downtown St. Paul Building
May 12 – St. Paul firefighters were called to a smoky two-alarm fire in a downtown building early Thursday.
Units were dispatched to the former Bremer Bank building, at 360 Cedar St., at 5:55 a.m. for a report of smoke in the building.
Chief 2 and Engine 15 arrived and began an investigation. The structure features multiple levels with more than 52,000 square feet of space and is vacant and awaiting demolition for the light rail project.
Engine 15 found heavy smoke in the lobby and pulled a hoseline to the front door. Engine 6 was assigned to supply Engine 15 with water.
Continuing the search for fire, Engine 8 went to the second floor and Ladder 8 accessed the roof of the building.
As crews continued to search for the source of the smoke, a second alarm was called at 6:15.
Crews began opening windows and doors to allow the smoke condition to lift.
Around 6:20, Squad 1 reported finding a charred electrical panel in the basement and called for a hoseline.
Excel was called to the scene to shut off the power.
The last unit cleared the scene around 8:30.
- Assignment: Engines 15, 8, 6, Ladder 8, Medic 8, Squad 1, Chief 2. We don’t have the RIT and second alarm assignments, but Engines 10 and 18, Ladders 10 and 18, Squad 2 and Chief 1 were also on scene.
Related:
St. Paul Firefighters Tackle House Fire Near Station 22
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
May 11 – Fire crews quickly contained a smokey house fire only blocks from Station 22 on Wednesday afternoon.
Just before 4:30 p.m., firefighters were called for a report of flames from the attic of a home at 286 Front Ave.
Engine 22 and Ladder 22 arrived to find heavy smoke and some flames visible from the attic of the 1 1/2-story dwelling. The crew from Engine 22 deployed a pre-connect to the second floor and Ladder 22’s crew ascended the aerial ladder to the roof.
Engine 22’s crew reported that the fire was in the cockloft of the home and they accessed it from a scuttle. A positive pressure ventilation fan was placed at the front door of the home.
The fire was placed under control in less than 15 minutes. Crews searched the structure, but the searches proved negative.
- Assignment: Engines 22, 18, 8, Ladder 22, Squad 1, Medic 8 and Chief 2. RIT Assignment: Engine 17, Ladder 8, Squad 2, Medic 23 and Chief 3
Breaking: Several Injured After Truck, Bus Collide in Downtown St. Paul
May 4 – St. Paul fire crews were busy Wednesday morning as they responded to a crash involving a bus and pickup truck as a busy downtown St. Paul intersection.
Just after 9 a.m., firefighters and paramedics were called to the crash at 6th and Cedar Streets.
They arrived to find a truck crushed between a Metro Transit bus and the wall of a parking garage. The driver of the pickup was trapped in the vehicle.
Five medic units were called to the scene and more than a half-dozen victims were transported to area hospitals.
Twin Cities Fire Wire will update this story when more information is available.
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
Video: Family Escapes Early-morning St. Paul Blaze
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
April 29 – A family escaped an early-morning house fire in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood.
Just after 4 a.m., fire crews were called to the 1300 block Juno Avenue for a dwelling fire.
Engine 14 arrived to find heavy fire from the second floor of the two-story home. The residents escaped before crews arrived.
The fire was brought under control in 15 minutes.
Car Rolls Into Pond, Traps Driver in St. Paul
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
This story was updated on Friday morning.
April 28 – Emergency crews worked to free an occupant who was trapped after his car rolled into a retaining pond along Interstate 280 in St. Paul on Thursday evening.
St. Paul fire crews were called to Interstate 280 at Energy Park Drive for a call that rolled over into a pond at 9:20 p.m. As fire crews went enroute, they were advised that the driver was trapped.
Engine 23 arrived to find the vehicle on its roof in several feet of water along the exit ramp from Northbound 280 onto Energy Park Drive. Police officers from St. Paul, the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Patrol were on scene as well and, at this time, it is unknown who freed the driver.
Firefighters packaged the man and he was transported by Medic 14 to an area hospital in serious condition. Other crews checked the water, which was waist deep in some areas, for any other occupants. Officers searched the surrounding areas as well.
Using Squad 2’s winch, the vehicle was rolled on its wheels and firefighters checked the water and vehicle for additional occupants.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the 32-year-old driver exited 280 for Energy Park Drive “at highway speeds” and rolled into the pond when he over corrected.
Assignment: Engine 23, Ladder 20, Squad 2, Medic 14, Chief 1
‘Suspicious’ Package Causes Scare, Evacuation of St. Paul Fire Station
Twin Cities Fire Wire
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Update: Officials say the “package” was several candles wrapped in stretch pants and there was no serious danger.
April 21 – St. Paul fire Headquarters and Station 1 were evacuated Thursday afternoon after a city worker brought a suspicious package to the building.
Just after 1 p.m., a St. Paul Parks and Recreation worker parked his pickup truck in front of the fire station — at Randolph Avenue and West Seventh Street — and told fire officials that he found a suspicious looking package at nearby Crosby Farm Park, St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said.
A dozen fire administration employees, the deputy chief and the crews of Engine 10, Ladder 10 and Squad 3 evacuated the building. Crews blocked off both ends of Randolph.
Squad 1 and the Chemical Assessment Team were called to the scene.
The St. Paul Police bomb squad arrived and investigated the package inside of a plastic five gallon bucket.
An officer donned the bomb suit and moved the package to a containment vessel to be taken to a safe place to determine the contents of the package.
The scene was cleared just after 2 p.m. and workers returned to the building. Zaccard said that fire crews stayed in service during the incident.
- Assignment: Engine/Medic 10, Ladder 10, Squad 1/Hazmat, Squad 3 and Deputy Chief, St. Paul Police Bomb Squad
Fire Hits St. Paul Business Days After Secretary of Labor Visits
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
April 15 – St. Paul firefighters were called to a commercial building fire in the same facility that the U.S. Secretary of Labor toured earlier in the week. The fire was contained by a suppression system, but crews checked for any possible extension before leaving.
St. Paul firefighters were called to Viking Drill & Tool at 355 State St. around 2 p.m. and found smoke from the D-side of the large one-story commercial building.
A flash fire happened after an oil build up in the system. The built-in fire suppression system in the duct work extinguished the fire prior to the departments arrival, but caused a moderate smoke condition.
Crews stretched a 2 1/2-inch supply line with a high-rise bundle to the area where the fire started as a precaution.
Using Ladder 8’s aerial, crews checked the duct work on the roof and found no extension.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and her staff, along with mayors from St. Paul and Minneapolis toured the facility to see how federal grants and training have helped the business go green.
On Sept. 15, 2005 one firefighter was injured after a violent explosion caused the duct system to collapse on firefighting crews in the same building.
- Assignment: Engines 6, 15, 8, Ladder 8, Squad 1/Hazmat and Chief 3
Related
Fire, EMS Crews Busy with Stabbings on Monday Evening
Twin Cities Fire Wire Photo
April 11 – Emergency crews were busy with three stabbing calls, all reported around the same time, on Monday evening.
St. Paul Medic 8 was dispatched to the Mobil Gas Station at Grand Avenue and Smith Avenue N. around 10:45 p.m.
They found a male with stab wounds and transported him to Regions hospital, according to fire department spokesman Steve Zacccard.
Around 11:15 Minneapolis Fire and Hennepin EMS crews were dispatched to two stabbing incidents in South Minneapolis.
The first incident occurred at a Super America gas station at 34th Avenue S. & 51st Street E. Fire and EMS crews treated a man who was slashed in the face. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center.
Fire and EMS crews were also called to 5100 block of 44th Avenue South. They found a person stabbed in the chest and Hennepin EMS transported to Hennepin County Medical Center.
Twin Cities Fire Wire 