MANTORVILLE, Minn. — One person has died, and another five residents were treated at a local hospital after a significant fire at an apartment building in the southeast Minnesota community of Mantorville Thursday.
Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose says dispatchers began receiving a series of 911 calls from the 12-unit Chestnut apartment building shortly after 6:30 a.m. Callers said there were residents trapped in the burning building.
Deputies and firefighters arrived on scene to encounter heavy smoke pouring from the building. Rose says law enforcement entered the structure and were initially able to help five residents escape.
At least five people were taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester for treatment, one of them reported in critical condition. Sadly, one resident did not survive the fire.
Sheriff Rose says as of 10 a.m., all people who were inside the building have been accounted for.
Personnel from the State Fire Marshal's Office are on the scene helping investigators from the Mantorville Fire Department document the scene and attempt to determine the cause of the fire.
Displaced residents are receiving help from the Red Cross.
