Woman breathing easier after 3rd-floor rescue from burning St. Paul house

Article by: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune
Updated: April 5, 2012 - 11:32 PM

St. Paul firefighters Bill Rondeau (right) and Tom Henry wait for a second ladder to rescue a woman who was trapped on the third floor during an apartment at 829 Portland Ave. in St. Paul late on April 4.

Photo: Peter Matthews via St. Paul Fire Dept.,

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Firefighters plucked a woman from the third-floor window of a burning house, giving her an air mask as she was about to make her way down the ladder, authorities said.

The rescue at the multi-family dwelling occurred about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday at the front of the three-story home in the 800 block of Portland Avenue, according to Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard.

When firefighters arrived, they found the back of the home ablaze and a woman who lived there at an open third-floor window at the front, Zaccard said.

Firefighters put up two ladders and went up to get the resident, handing over one of their air masks before she made her descent, he said.

Paramedics checked out the woman's health, and she declined further medical aid. One firefighter was taken to a hospital for troubled breathing.

Zaccard said the woman was sleeping at the time the fire began and was awakened by voices outside.

The flames were contained to the back of the house, which is uninhabitable, and were stopped before they could spread throughout the attic, the fire marshal said. A cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

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