Plymouth fire damages townhouse, displacing 8 families
PLYMOUTH, Minn. — City officials in Plymouth say eight families have been displaced after an overnight townhouse fire.
According to a city spokesperson, crews with the Plymouth Public Safety Department were dispatched shortly after 12:30 a.m. Monday to the fire located on the 15000 block of 26th Avenue North.
Neighbor Judy Snuffer, watched it unfold from her bedroom window.
"It was sad," she said. "And it was scary. I knew almost right away that they were all safe so that helped. Knowing that no one was in there, that helped a lot."
When crews arrived, fire was coming from the roof of the eight-unit townhouse. Firefighters began extinguishing the fire after confirming everyone was out of the structure.
"It helps us with the fire. It dials it down a little bit for us. We can slow things down and methodically work on putting it out," Plymouth Battalion Fire Chief Andy Etzel said.
While no one was hurt, eight families are still without a home. In the daylight, neighbors say the damage is daunting.
"To me, what I'm thinking about is starting all over with everything," Snuffer said. "The clothes. The furniture. Everything you own. Your finances are all messed up in there. It's just a huge, huge deal. It's not little. It's enormous."
The eight displaced families are now receiving assistance from the Red Cross.
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Details on the extent of the blaze have yet to be released. The cause of the fire is being looked into by investigators.
Public safety officials were assisted by North Memorial Ambulance, Xcel Energy, the Hennepin County Fire Investigation Team and nine area fire departments.
