Downtown Minneapolis Apartment Fire Leaves 2 Dozen Displaced
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- About two dozen people are without a home on Monday after an apartment fire in downtown Minneapolis.
It happened Sunday afternoon on the 200 block of 9th Street South. As WCCO's Angela Davis shows us, the fire damaged at least 19 apartments.
"I'm shaking right now I'm so upset," Greg Davis said.
Greg Davis talked on the phone with his girlfriend moments after her apartment went up in flames.
"She was here earlier cause we're in the process of moving. She grabbed some stuff, left a few hours ago. I have no idea how this happened," he said.
At around 2 p.m. Sunday, firefighters were called to the downtown Minneapolis apartment building.
"I was about to enter my car and I heard an explosion. I looked around and I noticed smoke coming from the apartment building right there," witness Rome Kidd said.
Firefighters spent about 40 minutes battling the flames and making sure no one was inside.
"That fire started to spread laterally pretty quickly and at that point we decided to pull the crews out," Minneapolis Fire Chief John Fruetel said.
No one had to be rescued from the building and there were no reports of any injuries. But the damage left behind is cause for stress.
"We had dishes, a bunch of clothes, a brand new kitchen table and it's gone now. I don't even know what to think," Davis said.
Still, Davis says it could've been much worse.
"I'm happy she wasn't here. I don't know what I would do," Davis said.
The Red Cross says its helping people affected by the fire. The cause is under investigation.