Early morning fire in Near North neighborhood displaces more than a dozen people

Early morning fire in Near North neighborhood displaces more than a dozen people

According to the Minneapolis Fire Department, the call was made around 3:20 a.m. for a building on the 1600 block of Plymouth Avenue North.

A two-alarm fire called in during the overnight hours in the Near North neighborhood in Minneapolis has left multiple people without a home.

According to the Minneapolis Fire Department, the call was made around 3:20 a.m. for a building on the 1600 block of Plymouth Avenue North.

When crews arrived, they found flames coming from the alley side on the first and second floors of the building, which is three stories high.

Firefighters went inside and evacuated everyone, and then did searches.

Multiple people could be seen in only their pajamas watching crews battle the flames.

No one was reported injured, but firefighters say crews did rescue and also revive a cat, which was returned to its owner. Footage captured by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS showed the cat was wet and covered in soot, and it was given oxygen on the sidewalk. The cat is expected to be OK.

A cat is rescued and revived by firefighters on Dec. 7, 2023 after a fire in a Near North apartment building. Credit: Jeff Ernewein/KSTP-TV

Crews found fire in units on all three floors, as well as the roofline. The flames were eventually put out after a hole was made in the roof to ventilate the building.

Out of the 12 units in the building, fire officials say multiple are uninhabitable. The Red Cross is helping those who have been displaced, and a bus was also brought in to temporarily shelter those who were displaced.

No word yet on what caused the fire.