3 Firefighters Injured, 12 People Displaced After Robbinsdale Fire
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A dozen people are without a home after fire ripped through an apartment building in Robbinsdale Friday morning.
Investigators believe a cigarette caused the fire.
Firefighters were called to the apartment complex on the 4200 block of 46th Avenue North around 1 a.m. It took 13 departments to get this fire under control.
"We've had a few minor fires but never anything like this," said resident Donna Parrish.
Parrish has lived at the Beach South at the Lake Apartments for 35 years. Now, she's without a home.
"I didn't grab anything. My teeth are gone and my purse and all that," said Parrish.
It took the help of more than 110 firefighters to contain the blaze that displaced 12 residents. When the first crews arrived, the fire was already going strong.
"It's just the amount of space that's burning. Exterior, interior, roof. So lots of places to extinguish," said Robbinsdale Fire Marshal Greg Bodin.
Some firefighters were on scene for eight hours until all of the flames and hot spots were out.
Preliminary investigation shows the fire was a result of an improperly disposed cigarette.
"It's a reminder about smoking, cooking on decks. How often have we as firefighters, how often have you as the press been in situations like this with decks?" Bodin said.
Displaced residents will have temporary housing through the Red Cross. Many of them only had time to leave with the clothes on their back.
"Grabbed my phone, that was basically it," said one resident.
"Grabbed our pets and left, that's all we did," said another.
While possessions were lost, everyone made it out safely.
"I saw all my neighbors coming out the same time," said Parrish. "It's stuff."
Bodin said all of the smoke alarms were working, which allowed everyone to get out in time.
Three firefighters were injured but have already been treated and released from the hospital.
Authorities do not know what floor or apartment unit the fire started in. Bodin did say they believe it started on a deck outside and then spread.
Last month, fire investigators showed WCCO's Bill Hudson how a cigarette thrown in a planter can smolder for hours before starting a huge fire. Click here to see the full report.
