Minneapolis celebrates final fire sprinkler installation in city's public housing high-rises
MINNEAPOLIS — Federal and local leaders are celebrating in Minneapolis on Monday after all 42 public housing high-rises in the city now have fire sprinklers.
In November 2019, a fire killed five people on the 14th floor of the Cedar High Apartments. At the time, only 16 of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority's high-rises had fire suppression systems.
A year later, the housing authority set a goal to outfit all buildings by the end of 2025, which was completed ahead of schedule.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was joined by Minnesota's U.S. senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at Monday's ceremony. Omar originally launched the effort and secured federal funding with the help of both senators.
"It was my personal mission to make sure no other lives would be impacted in the same way if we could get resources to retrofit every single public housing, not just in our state, not just in my district, but across the country," Omar said.
Klobuchar told the crowd that the deaths at Cedar High were entirely avoidable.
"We all know too well what the cost of inaction is," Klobuchar said. "But we also know that we can fix things, and we never give up."
Mary McGovern, a high-rise resident and president of the Minneapolis Highrise Representative Council, described the kinship of her fellow residents across the city.
"When something tragic happens in one building, we are impacted by one way or the other likewise," McGovern said. "We share a collective sense of relief and peace of mind knowing that our apartments, our buildings, our neighbors, ourselves are safe from the threat of fire."
The housing authority has invested nearly $14 million to make the project happen.
