MINNEAPOLIS — A massive fire at a historic four-story Minneapolis apartment building left two dead, four others hospitalized and 30 residents displaced from their homes late Tuesday night.
According to the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD), the fire began around 9:45 p.m. at 1501 11th Ave. S.
Engines arrived to find heavy black smoke billowing from the third floor, and flames in the rear stairwell that quickly spread to all floors.
In videos recovered from witnesses, people were seen hanging out the apartment windows and flames shooting through the roof of the apartment building. Fire crews arrived and immediately began rescuing residents trapped by the smoke and flames using 40-foot ground ladders.
The fire quickly escalated to three alarms due to the rapid escalation of conditions, and crews had to exit the building and switch to an exterior attack to ensure their safety. Both gas and electricity to the building were shut off as a precaution.
In an updated press release Thursday morning, MFD said it had received a report of one person still unaccounted for. The statement said crews searched for the individual in a specific unit, where they ultimately located the body of an elderly man. Later Thursday afternoon, MFD said a second person was found dead underneath the rubble on the same floor.
Neither victim has been identified.
Jada Rosario lived on the first floor with her three kids. She was heartbroken to learn not everyone made it out.
“It’s sad. It’s sad and it makes me more grateful we made out because at least you know we’re still here," she said.
Rosario said her fire alarms didn't go off. She said the only reason she knew there was a fire was because her daughter heard people banging on the door, then Rosario heard someone at her window.
“Somebody pushed my AC out of the window, and he was screaming that the building was on fire," Rosario said. “[My daughter] opened the front door and the smoke came in, so by the time we got out the fire was already to the front door, and my boyfriend had to kick the front door to get out the building."
Rosario said her apartment is flooded with water, she suspects its several feet deep and was a result of the firefighters trying to put out the fire. She got a glimpse of the damage through her window before it was boarded up.
"We lost everything. There’s nothing salvageable in there," Rosario said.
She had to buy her kids new shoes, clothes, and will soon have to get them new school supplies. She started a GoFundMe to help her family move forward. Even though she lost everything, she still has what matters the most.
"It made me open my eyes a lot because a lot of people lost a lot of things, a couple people lost their lives so to still have me and my kids that's all that matters to me," she said.
Four other residents were taken to the hospital in the immediate aftermath of the fire for treatment, including a teenager. Officials said they were all in serious but stable condition as of Tuesday. Three were treated for burns and one for smoke inhalation. Two firefighters were treated at the scene for exhaustion and released.
The American Red Cross confirmed Wednesday it's providing food and shelter for the displaced residents.
"Our hearts go out to our neighbors who were impacted by devastating fire," said Brice Johnson, Regional CEO at the American Red Cross Minnesota and Dakotas Region in a statement. "People are exhausted and overwhelmed — seventeen people stayed overnight at our temporary shelter. Our volunteers are comforting our neighbors, wrapping them in blankets, some who escaped the blaze in their pajamas."
Jay, a third-floor tenant, said he wasn't home when the fire started but he made his way over around midnight.
"My uncle is the property manager and he called me like — he called me like three times," he said. "Then I hurried up and rushed down here."
All of his belongings are gone. Left with just the clothes on his back, Jay said he's blessed to be alive.
"Everybody lost everything, but everybody doesn't have the ability to get everything right back as quick as other people type thing so it's like, it's just, it's a terrible situation," he said. "The ultimate reset button; it was just the ultimate reset button."
Minneapolis fire officials said the fire was difficult to put out because the building lacked a feature known as "standpipes."
"Standpipes help us get water directly from the standpipe system... from the fire suppression system, so we did have to lay lines all the way up to the third floor through the rear [of the building] and also through the front," assistant fire chief Melanie Rucker said.
The building — constructed in 1916 — was badly damaged, with the roof partially caving in as the morning wore on. Crews were still putting water on the smoldering structure as the sun came up. It's still unclear whether it will be considered a total loss.
At this point, investigators still haven't determined the cause.