Frigid Temperatures Challenge Crews Battling Overnight House Fire
Minneapolis fire crews battled a house fire early Tuesday morning as temperatures plummeted, causing equipment to freeze and forcing crews to work in brutal conditions.
MFD says the fire broke out around 2 a.m. at a home on the 2700 block of 4th Street North.
When firefighters arrived, heavy fire was seen from the back of the house. Crews started applying water and searched the home, but the flames had already spread from the second floor up into the walls, third floor and the attic.
As the fire grew, crews encountered difficulty with freezing equipment and hoses, complicating the effort to extinguish the fire. Flames eventually broke through the roof and forced firefighters out of the home for safety.
With air temperatures dropping past -10 degrees, a Metro Transit bus was brought in to give firefighters a place to warm up. An aerial ladder truck was used to extinguish the flames coming from the roof and a fourth alarm was ultimately requested to rotate firefighters and equipment at the scene.
Despite the dangerous conditions, no injuries were reported and crews confirmed no one was inside the residence. Firefighters remained on scene for hours working to fully extinguish the blaze.
The number of displaced residents is unclear, as the occupants left the scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Around 7:50 a.m. Tuesday, crews were also dispatched to a fire at a two-story home on the 1500 block of Russell Avenue North, where smoke was seen coming from the roof. Firefighters quickly worked to contain the flames, knocking down the bulk of the fire in the attic space. No injuries were reported and the fire was placed under control.
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