St. Paul senior living facility fire leaves 1 woman dead

Neighbors tried to save woman from fire in St. Paul senior living facility

FOX 9's Se Kwon spoke to residents in a St. Paul senior living apartment complex who tried to save a woman from a fire early Friday morning.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A woman died after an early morning fire at a senior living apartment complex in St. Paul on Friday. 

Deadly fire in St. Paul

What we know:

The St. Paul Fire Department confirmed to FOX 9 that one woman was found dead after they put out a fire at the Como By the Lake Senior Apartments on Como Boulevard in St. Paul. 

Firefighters say they responded to the fire at about 3:45 a.m. and found the woman's body after extinguishing the flames. 

The fire was contained to a single unit on the first floor.

The fire did not displace any of the other residents, but the building was temporarily evacuated. 

St. Paul police say there are no signs of foul play. 

The building houses 99 units and is home to people aged 55 and older. 

Woman dies after fire in St. Paul senior living facility

A woman is dead after a fire broke out in a St. Paul senior living facility. FOX 9's Se Kwon has the latest report.

What we don't know:

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal Division. 

The woman's identity is being withheld pending the notification of her family. 

What they're saying:

Neighbors spoke to FOX 9 after the fire was extinguished.

"I was trying to find where it was coming from, and it was seeping through the walls or something, in the vent," said Phillip Hill, who lives in the apartment complex. "And then I got my wife up and went in the hallway, and it was, well, dark, it was smothering."

"We were trying to knock on her window and I said, ‘Mike, just break it, just break it,’ you could see the smoke," said neighbor Shavawn Hill. "I'm going, like, we gotta get her, we gotta get her, and we couldn't do anything,"

Dig deeper:

The St. Paul Fire Department said the death can not be considered an official fire fatality until the cause of death is determined by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office. 

If ruled a fire fatality, it would be the fifth fire fatality in St. Paul for the year 2025, surpassing the annual average of two to three.