MINNEAPOLIS — One man is dead and two others injured after a fire in the Jordan neighborhood of North Minneapolis late Tuesday.
According to Minneapolis Deputy Chief Kathleen Mullen, a neighbor called 911 just before 11 p.m. to report smoke coming from the second story of a building on the 1700 block of 26th Ave. North, knowing that there were people in the home.
Fire crews arrived on scene minutes after the call and forced entry through the locked front door. They were able to rescue two adult men from the home. One man was taken to a local hospital, and the other refused treatment on-scene.
By the time fire crews reached the third resident of the home inside a second story bedroom he had already succumbed to the fire, according to Deputy Chief Mullen. The medical examiner identified the victim as 52-year-old Tramund Michael Joseph.
"Another minute or two, and we would have had three fatalities," said Mullen, who was thankful for the neighbor's call and quick action of Minneapolis firefighters.
The fire appears to have started in that second floor bedroom, and because the door was closed, the fire was mostly contained in that area. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the state fire marshal.
"It's always tough on our crews," said Mullen. "They never think about the saves that they made, they're thinking about the person they weren't able to help."
This is the third fire fatality in Minneapolis in 2021.