More than 40 residents of a north Minneapolis apartment building are without a place to live after a three-alarm fire severely damaged the building Thursday night.
Fire crews using ladders rescued two people off two third-floor balconies as they fought the blaze at the building in the 1400 block of N. Plymouth Avenue, said Minneapolis Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Melanie Rucker.
All other residents, including children, were able to get out of the three-story building without injury, Rucker said. Firefighters evacuated the building and searched each floor to make sure everyone was out safely, she said.
Crews arrived at the scene just after 10 p.m. to find a fire on a third-floor balcony. Flames were shooting skyward and burned through the roof before firefighters were able to put it out, Rucker said.
The 22-unit building sustained extensive fire and water damage and was deemed uninhabitable, Rucker said. The Red Cross is helping residents find shelter. It's not immediately clear how the fire started.
TIM harlow
