Minneapolis Fire Kills Three Children, 15 People Lived In Duplex
A Minneapolis fire has resulted in the death of three children and displaced the other residents living in the duplex. Five other residents were injured and transported to the hospital, while one firefighter also sustained injuries on the scene. Officials report there were a total of 15 people living in the three story duplex and the home is destroyed, leaving them all displaced.
The Minneapolis fire started sometime before 5 am Friday morning, when a father of seven children living the duplex called 911. One of the residents, Taleaha Cox, told KARE-TV that there were two total families living in the home and were suddenly awakened by the fire. Cox told reporters that the father was raising the children alone, after their mother passed away recently. Cox said her little brother woke her up because of the smell of smoke and screaming coming from upstairs.
Minneapolis Fire Chief John Fruetel reported the children’s death to reporters outside the home, where more than 40 firefighters responded to the call. As smoke billowed out of the top two stories of the home, Fruetel reported that the situation escalated much quicker than would be expected. Soon, a full blown three alarm fire was ravaging the home.
The freezing conditions made the fire especially hard to deal with for Minneapolis emergency workers. As they tried to assist the injured and extract the children, the scene was chaos. Before handing over the press to Fruetel, Mayor Betsy Hodges said, “the entire community is affected by this fire. This is a tragic moment for this neighborhood and these families.”
This most recent fire is reminiscent of another terrible tragedy that occurred in early January. An explosion at a Minneapolis apartment forced people to jump out of windows. The New Year’s Day explosion is still fresh in the minds of emergency crews.
While the Minneapolis fire has been completely put out, responders will be dealing with clean up and investigation for the rest of the day.
