Crime & Safety

(UPDATED) Hopkins Firefighters Help with St. Louis Park Condo Fire

The fire on Minnetonka Boulevard broke out just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

A fire that broke out at a St. Louis Park condominium complex shortly before 3:30 p.m.—with temperatures near 100 degrees—put firefighters to the test, but no serious injuries have been reported.

Fire crews from Hopkins, Saint Louis Park, Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Richfield and Eden Prairie responded to the scene. 

 

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The fire ravaged several units of the Natchez Place Condominiums—4625 Minnetonka Blvd.—although firefighters were able to quell the flames fairly quickly.

The fire's cause has not yet been determined.

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A woman in her 90s who lives in one of the condos was taken by ambulance as a precaution. A Golden Valley firefighter was also taken by ambulance as a precaution. Residents and firefighters were being monitored on scene for smoke inhalation, as well as heat exhaustion.

Firefighters were working in short shifts to avoid heat-related injuries, with those not in the building getting routine blood-pressure checks and taking in plenty of fluids while they rested. The Red Cross and Salvation Army were on scene to provide water and food.

Mike Dobesh, an assistant St. Louis Park fire chief, said upwards of 100 firefighters showed up for the five-alarm fire. The fire itself wasn't actually that large and would have normally required a much smaller response, but the heat and humidity made the situation anything but normal.

"The reality of fighting fires in 100-degree weather is you can't do as much as you normally would," Dobesh said. "If this was 72 degrees and low humidity, we probably would have been at a one- or two-alarm fire, at the most."

Several units sustained fire damage and about one-third of the condominium complex sustained smoke damage, St. Louis Park spokesman Jamie Zwilling said. He added that he expects a number of residents to be displaced from the building for the night.

Zwilling said Minnetonka Boulevard between Ottawa and Monterey avenues could reopen later tonight, but that stretch remains closed to motorists for the time being.

Rich Grimes, who lives in a first-floor unit at the residence, said he was inside when he heard alarms going off, then other residents yelling to evacuate.

"You could smell it," Grimes said of smoke in the hallway. "I got right out."

Grimes, who had bypass surgery several years ago, said he was thankful that the stress and heat didn't overwhelm him.

"I don't want to go through this again, coming out to 100-degree heat," Grimes said.

Sarah Wolf was also inside the building when the fire broke out. She lives on the third-floor, and said she went out to her balcony when she first heard alarms. Wolf said she could see flames coming from the unit next to her's.

She got out safely, but cursed her bad luck.

"I bought the condo a week ago," Wolf said.


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