Teens' porch fireworks torch St. Paul duplex

Careless mistakes land 13 people in Red Cross shelter.

By JIM ADAMS, Star Tribune

Last update: June 29, 2009 - 11:05 PM

Print this story

Follow local news on Twitter

FIREWORKS SAFETY

To avoid fireworks injuries, the state fire marshal offers these tips: • Use only legal fireworks. • Wear sturdy shoes and avoid loose clothing or hats. • Light one item at a time and never in an enclosed container. • Keep a bucket of water handy to cool spent sparkler wires and extinguish other fireworks. • Don't use fireworks in areas with dry grass, brush or debris that flying sparks may ignite. For more facts and tips, go to www.fire.state.mn.us and select "Fireworks Information."

More from St. Paul

About those fireworks you picked up for this weekend: Take them outside the house when you light them off.

All the way outside.

Two St. Paul teens learned that lesson the hard way when legal fireworks they set off on the front porch later set their duplex on fire early Monday.

The fire left 13 people homeless because "they had a little fun at 1 a.m. in the morning," said Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard. "They didn't do anything criminal but what they did was stupid and careless. The important message here is just because they [fireworks] are legal doesn't mean they are safe."

The Twin Cities chapter of the American Red Cross is providing shelter, food and clothes to 13 people, including several residents who weren't home during the fire, said spokeswoman Lynette Nyman. She said the teens lived upstairs in a family that included a mother, her 21-year-old daughter, her six younger children ranging from 7 to 16 years old, and two grandchildren. At least two men, possibly three, lived on the first floor.

Firefighters were called about 1 a.m. to 1935 Roblyn Av. and found the second floor and attic engulfed in flames. The teens told an investigator they had set off fountain fireworks outside and on the enclosed first-floor porch, Zaccard said. Then they went upstairs, where their 21-year-old sister was babysitting in the mother's absence, he said.

About 30 minutes later the two teens smelled smoke and returned to find the porch afire. It shot up through inside walls to the attic in the duplex, built in 1890, Zaccard said. He said the two kids, in their mid-teens, compounded their problems by trying to douse the fire with pans of water before calling 911. Firefighters arrived minutes later, call, he said.

Smoke detectors sounded and everyone escaped safely, Zaccard said. No firefighters were hurt.

Zaccard estimated damage at $70,000 and said it could take months to repair the building. He said it is best to call 911 immediately for fires rather than risk injury or death trying to put out a fire. St. Paul firefighters average a four-minute response time to fire calls, he said.

In Minnesota, fireworks caused 69 injuries serious enough for emergency room treatment in 2008 -- more than half of them to youths age 19 and under, said the state fire marshal's office. Nationally, nearly 10,000 Americans are treated for fireworks injuries each year, according to the Consumer Products Safety Division.

Minnesota became the 42nd state to legalize some kind of fireworks in 2002 when the Legislature approved use of non-explosive and non-aerial fireworks. Those include sparklers, snakes, pinwheels, ground spinners and spark cones.

Though legal, "they are merely less dangerous than the outlawed fireworks that fly or explode," said state Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl in a news release. He said children using fireworks should have adult supervision. He said the tip of a sparkler can reach 2,000 degrees, hot enough to melt gold.

A common hazard is fireworks that fail to ignite. "People who try to relight a device often end up with damaged eyes or fingers," Rosendahl said.

Fireworks buyers must be 18 years old and provide IDs, but younger children can set them off. Consumer fireworks are banned from public lands, including parks, schools and roads.

Jim Adams • 612-673-7658

Recent St. Paul stories

Jury convicts St. Paul man of $18,000 bank holdup - June 29, 2009

Jury convicts St. Paul man of $18,000 bank holdup - A St. Paul man has been convicted of putting a gun to the back of an employee's head and robbing a credit union in Inver Grove Heights of more than $18,000. More