Man killed in Inver Grove Heights condo fire is identified

Sprinklers might have prevented the fatal fire, the city's fire chief said.

October 27, 2020 at 11:53AM

The Inver Grove Heights fire chief says a man killed in a condominium fire Sunday night may not have died if the building had sprinklers.

Firefighters found Timothy Wagner, 64, dead inside one of the units when they arrived on the 3800 block of Conroy Trail.

A neighbor called in the fire about 8:50 p.m. Two crews arrived and found "heavy fire and smoke" in one of the condominiums, said Fire Chief Judy Thill.

One crew knocked down the blaze and a second crew went inside and found Wagner, Thill said.

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire, which was contained to the unit where Wagner was found. There were no other injuries, Thill said.

The condominium was built in the 1970s and sprinklers were not required at that time.

"There is a high likelihood that fire sprinklers would have prevented the fire from growing very big and could have helped with survivability," Thill said.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768

about the writer

about the writer

Tim Harlow

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Tim Harlow covers traffic and transportation issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and likes to get out of the office, even during rush hour. He also covers the suburbs in northern Hennepin and all of Anoka counties, plus breaking news and weather.

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