MINNEAPOLIS — Firefighters face many dangers on the job, with one of them being hot temperatures encountered while putting down flames.
That was underlined Thursday when four Minneapolis firefighters were hospitalized with complications from the heat while battling a fire at an abandoned home on the 2200 block of Lyndale Ave. N.
Crews were dispatched just before 9 a.m. on reports that a 2 1/2 story, boarded up duplex was burning. On arrival they found heavy smoke and fire at the rear of the structure and throughout the first floor. Firefighters learned that squatters were living in the vacant building and were seen running from the home near the time the fire was reported.
A second alarm was quickly called to summon extra personnel and equipment due to the rapid spread of fire, hot conditions and worries the flames could jump to nearby structures.
Crews were able to get the fire under control with only minor damage to the siding on a home to the north. Officials say three firefighters were taken to the hospital to be evaluated for heat exertion and exhaustion, and a fourth was transported for a back injury plus heat exertion.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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