St. Paul firefighters rescues woman, toddler as 3 fires break out in 90 minutes Saturday
From R-L: Houses on 100 block of Elizabeth Street East, 1800 block of Magnolia Avenue East, and the 700 block of Magnolia Avenue East. Photos courtesy of the St. Paul Fire Department. (Supplied)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - St. Paul fire crews were pushed to their limits Saturday afternoon as three separate structure fires broke out across the city in rapid succession, requiring a major commitment of personnel and resources.
Three fires, one afternoon
Timeline:
St. Paul Fire-EMS responded to the first fire around 2:30 p.m. at an apartment building on the 1800 block of Magnolia Avenue East. Firefighters arrived to find alarms sounding and residents evacuating the building.
Crews quickly located and extinguished the fire, keeping it from spreading beyond the unit where it started. No injuries were reported. While the official cause remains under investigation, preliminary findings suggest unattended cooking may have played a role.
About an hour later, at approximately 3:30 p.m., crews were dispatched to another structure fire on the 700 block of Magnolia Avenue East. Firefighters arrived to find an active fire on the first floor of an up-and-down duplex and immediately entered the building, rescuing a woman and a toddler. Both were transported by St. Paul Fire-EMS to a local hospital. One firefighter also sustained minor injuries.
Just before 4 p.m., a third fire was reported on the 100 block of Elizabeth Street East. Firefighters arrived to find a single-family home heavily involved in fire, with flames visible from all four sides of the structure. Due to the intensity of the blaze, crews initially attacked the fire from the exterior while working to protect a neighboring home from exposure. The occupants were not home at the time, but four dogs were reported unaccounted for.
Throughout all three fires, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics continued responding to calls across the rest of the city.
What they're saying:
Interim Fire Chief Gregory Duren II addressed the afternoon's events and praised his crews for their response.
"Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by today’s fires, particularly the residents who were injured or displaced," said Duren. "I am extremely proud of the work of our firefighters, EMTs and paramedics. Faced with three significant fires in a very short period of time, our crews responded quickly, made critical rescues, prevented fires from spreading to additional homes and continued providing emergency service throughout the city."
"Their professionalism and teamwork under extremely demanding circumstances demonstrate the level of service the people of St. Paul can count on every day," said Duren.
What we don't know:
The causes of all three fires remain under investigation by the St. Paul Fire Department. No additional information regarding the conditions of the woman and toddler transported to the hospital has been released.
The Source: This story is based on information released by St. Paul Fire-EMS.