Fire at apartment in Minneapolis displaces residents

A fire at an apartment building in Minneapolis caused extensive damage to an apartment unit and displaced residents on Saturday morning.

At around 11:38 a.m., fire crews responded to reports of a fire at the 3700 block of Oakland Avenue South. When officials arrived, they found smoke and fire showing from the second floor of a three-story residential apartment building.

Crews laid lines to the second floor, evacuated the building and searched all the floors, according to the Minneapolis Fire Department.

One woman was brought to the hospital for minor cuts, while a cat was rescued and brought to the vet for smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported.

Officials stated that several apartment units were deemed uninhabitable. Red Cross was called in to assist 11 residents.

Red Cross later released a statement stating they were helping the three families and offered advice on preventing fires.

“Our hearts go out to our neighbors who were impacted by this fire,” said Brice Johnson, CEO for the Minnesota and Dakotas Region of the Red Cross. “Because these disasters can happen anytime, anywhere, please help stay safe by testing your smoke alarms each month and practicing your home fire escape plan until everyone in your household can escape in two minutes or less.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.