Families move from makeshift shelter as demolition begins on Drake Hotel after Christmas fire
(FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Families and other displaced residents were on the move Saturday as demolition begins in Minneapolis after a massive fire ripped through a hotel on Christmas morning.
Around 250 residents, including 100 children, were displaced by the fire at the Francis Drake Hotel on Wednesday. Thursday, as many as 111 people were being housed in an emergency shelter without showers and a kitchen, leaving tensions high.
Saturday, however, families were on the move, as Red Cross and city officials said 30 families were able to move into a Bloomington hotel while others were moved to a longer-term shelter at 1st Covenant Church, which had more amenities for residents.
At the same time, city crews began working to tear down part of the Drake Hotel that has been deemed unsafe. On Thursday, city officials said that the eastern portion of the U-shaped hotel need to be demolished after the fire had caused the roof and third floor to collapse onto the second floor.
Crews started work Saturday morning to tear down the east side of the Drake Hotel. (FOX 9)
As a result of the extra debris weight along with the water from the firefighting efforts, officials worried the section could collapse.
Over the next few days, officials say they will tear down the structure, then work to determine what to do with the rest of the building.