Minneapolis duplex a total loss after 2-alarm fire Friday morning
MINNEAPOLIS -- Multiple fire crews are working to quell a fully-engulfed house fire Friday morning.
Crews responded just after 6 a.m. to big flames coming from the building's second floor and a huge plume of smoke bellowing into the early morning sky. Firefighters laid three lines to protect neighboring residences.
Assistant Fire Chief Wesley VanVickle said working smoke alarms alerted the six people inside evacuate the building, which was described as a two-and-a-half story duplex located on the 3900 block of 15th Avenue South. Crews did report that one man, an Airbnb occupant, was taken to the hospital for burns to the bottom of his feet.
The fire happened on one of the most brutally cold mornings of the season.
VanVickle said they had to take extra precautions to make sure firefighters were safe.
"It's quite a bit tougher especially when you're outside because as you see when you get wet all their gear freeze and with the cold like this you don't really warm up so we're having them take turns go try to get warm a little in their own rigs and we also have a city bus that they can go sit on," he said.
Cami Phillippi who lives across the street said it was a frightening scene to wake up to Friday morning.
"We were just scared and hoping everyone was getting out," she said. "There was really nothing we could do at that point other than stand just kind of stand back and watch and make sure everyone was ok."
Phillippi said she was one of multiple people who called 911. She added the neighborhood is a tight-knit community where the same people have lived for quite some time and she feels for the homeowner.
"My heart just really goes out to her," Phillippi said. "She's been there for a long time and she has a really big heart and is always really nice to our kids and so it's just really devastating for her."
A second alarm was called for additional personnel and equipment.
VanVickle said the hydrants crews needed to use were all dug out making it much easier for them to access the water source to fight the flames.
He added firefighters were easily able to get to the fire because everyone on the street abided by the new one-side parking rule that went into effect in Minneapolis last week.
"The one-sided parking makes all the difference," VanVickle said. "We were able to actually get an arial [ladder] up. If we had cars on both sides we wouldn't have been able to get that arial device up to the roof which actually helped actually put the fire out."
He added it would have taken them a lot longer to put the fire if cars were parked on both sides of the street.
"We actually would probably still be seeing flames right now because we would have been using hand-lines from the ground versus being able to go up over the top and put the fire out."
The Red Cross is assisting with three residents who lived in the building.
Fire officials said the home is uninhabitable and will be boarded up.