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Investigating a Deadly Fire

Lake Street tenants spotted host of hazards before fire

The place was "a firetrap - and you can quote me on that," said Tom Stinchfield, who lived in the building for 17 years and apparently was one of the few tenants with a working smoke detector on the day of the fire. Updated Apr. 25, 2011

An apartment fire that killed six people in Minneapolis revealed serious flaws in the city's inspection practices and prompted major changes in the system. The apartments, which had multiple fire-code violations, were not inspected for at least 16 years.

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Passersby watched as firemen poured water on the McMahon Pub and apartment complex at 3001 East Lake Street.

Mpls. units hit by fire not inspected in 16 years
Article By: RANDY FURST and JAMES ELI SHIFFER ,Star Tribune staff writers Publish April 7, 2010 2:00 AM / Update April 25, 2011 5:11 PM
The Lake Street blaze that killed six brings up questions about Minneapolis fire inspection practices.

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Linda Armstrong

Survivors of Lake Street fire heard no alarms
Article By: JAMES ELI SHIFFER, MATT McKINNEY and PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune staff writers Publish April 6, 2010 2:00 AM / Update April 5, 2010 11:39 PM
Tenants say they didn't hear smoke detectors sound an alarm on the morning of the Lake Street blaze that killed six.

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Mpls. needs to step up fire checks, marshal says
Article By: RANDY FURST and JAMES ELI SHIFFER , Star Tribune staff writers Publish April 21, 2010 2:00 AM / Update April 20, 2010 10:29 PM
Better inspections in Minneapolis might have revealed the hazards in the building where six people died.

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Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak listens to Minneapolis Fire Chief Alex Jackson during an afternoon press conference in which it was announced three more bodies had been found, including two children.

Fire-code inspections under fire in Minneapolis
Article By: RANDY FURST and JAMES ELI SHIFFER , Star Tribune staff writers Publish April 16, 2010 2:00 AM / Update April 21, 2011 2:45 PM
Inspectors who check for fire-code violations in Minneapolis report to two different agencies -- the Fire Department and Regulatory Services -- and some say training is inadequate.

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An early morning fire destroyed McMahon's Pub, killing one person,.

Pub fire
Article By: Tom Sweeney , Publish / Update April 2, 2010 11:22 PM
An early morning fire destroyed McMahon's Pub on east Lake St in Minneapolis, and killed 6 people.

Cause of deadly Lake St. fire 'undetermined'
Article By: JAMES ELI SHIFFER and RANDY FURST , Star Tribune staff writers Publish May 5, 2010 2:00 AM / Update May 6, 2010 12:28 PM
Last month's deadly Lake Street fire was an accident, but investigators couldn't find the cause. Private investigators will take over now.

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Fire Department loses housing inspections in new city plan
Article By: RANDY FURST , Star Tribune Publish May 29, 2010 2:00 AM / Update May 29, 2010 6:35 PM
Minneapolis firefighters would continue to inspect larger apartment buildings and commercial buildings.

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Building at 3001 E. Lake St.

Aftermath of a deadly fire
Article By: MATT McKINNEY and STEVE BRANDT , Star Tribune staff writers Publish April 3, 2011 2:00 AM / Update April 3, 2011 8:58 AM
Minneapolis' new inspection system is still in a shakedown stage; the first reports are expected to show more inspections.

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