Roseville Apartment Fire Forces Dozens Out Of Homes
ROSEVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) -- Investigators are looking into a fire that forced as many as 75 people out of their homes Tuesday evening.
It destroyed three apartments and damaged nearly a dozen others at the Centennial Commons apartments, along Pascal Street North and Terrace in Roseville. The multi-alarm fire began around 7:45 p.m.. Roseville Fire Chief Tim O'Neill said it took firefighters 20 minutes to get the bulk of the fire out, and it took two hours to extinguish the entire thing.
When officials arrived on scene, they said there was a hallway full of flames and heavy smoke coming from the rear of the building. Firefighters say residents began jumping from the windows of the apartment to get away from the smoke.
Authorities say one person was trapped by the fire and needed to be rescued through a window. The person was hanging from the window, trying to escape the smoke.
"You could see he started straddling his window. His apartment was filling with smoke," said Roseville Fire Lt. Eric Chandler. "I just showed up there pretty quick, just to let him know to stay in his place, that guys were coming."
The man was just down from the apartment that had caught fire, trapped, with no one to turn to. Smoke engulfed the hallway and started taking over his apartment.
"We grabbed the ladder, put it up to the window, and I went up the ladder to assist him onto it," said Roseville Firefighter Eric Dickson. "I just had him lay on his belly, and we slid down, and Kevin and I pulled him off the ladder and made sure he was OK."
The man was given medical treatment by paramedics at the scene.
"We totally had to do a superman out the window, head first and we just lowered him down," said Roseville Firefighter Kevin Keenan.
As firefighters worked to get through the extreme heat and zero visibility of the fire, they found a single-bedroom apartment on the second floor completely engulfed by fire.
The fire chief said just about everyone who was staying at the complex had to find somewhere else to go after the fire, which caused heavy smoke and water damage, as well. The entire 24-unit building is unlivable and officials say the damages are estimated at $1.3 million. Residents on the first floor might be able to get back home by the end of the week. Those who live on the second and third floors might not get in for a several weeks or a few months.
A firefighter on scene suffered a minor injury, but should be OK. He injured his foot.
Roseville Firefighters say the heat was intense. In fact, Lt. Alex Crofford's helmet shield melted.
"This is more what our shields should look like for our eye protection, and when they get too hot, they melt and fold like this," he said, as he showed off the damage.
The apartment building was equipped with fire alarms, but no sprinklers. Roseville's Fire Chief said they activated. He also said there have been no code violations at the complex.
Eighty Twin Cities firefighters assisted in the fire, including firefighters from Roseville, Lake Johanna, St. Anthony, New Brighton, Little Canada and Maplewood.
Officials are investigating the cause of the fire. They say it could be weeks before people are allowed back inside the building. The Roseville Fire Marshall is looking into it.
The Red Cross is helping to relocate residents. They are currently assisting six families, totaling 10 adults and two children. And the man who firefighters rescued should be OK.
"It's what you train for. You go through a lot of scenarios. You train pretty hard. It's kind of a handful of times in your career that you get to do something like this," said Chandler.
