St. Paul firefighters and police responded to a vehicle that crashed into a building and caught fire just after midnight on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the St. Paul Police Department says that the person driving the Dodge Durango was an off-duty St. Paul officer and alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the crash. No one else was in the SUV.

Police said they responded to the crash on the 700 block of East Third Street and found the vehicle partially inside the vacant building when they arrived and the vehicle was starting to catch fire.

Officers tried to knock down the fire using fire extinguishers, but it grew, causing the building’s integrity to be unsafe. Firefighters got the fire under control when they arrived, police say.

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry provided this statement:

“This incident is deeply concerning and does not reflect or align with the values of our department or the expectations we have of each other or the people we serve. We are cooperating with the Minnesota State Patrol’s investigation and are following our internal policies and procedures.”

A police spokesperson says that the off-duty officer was unjuried.

Due to the driver being an off-duty officer, State Patrol is handling the investigation. No charges have been filed yet.

State Patrol later identified the officer as 30-year-old Bryan James McKinnon, who has been with the St. Paul Police Department since 2022. They stated he was processed on suspicion of driving while impaired and was released to Regions Hospital for further medical treatment.

McKinnon’s SPPD personnel file shows he has no history of disciplinary action.

Sheila Fricke and her son Tyler shot cell phone video of the SUV bursting into flame.

“Just heard a big boom and another big hole going through the building,” Sheila said. “Ran down, called 911, and made sure the person got out and it started on fire.”

“Like the car went up and the whole building around the car got really huge before the fire department came. The flames were huge,” Tyler said.

The Frickes say they’ve seen at least four previous crashes into the building but nothing like this.

“It seems like it’s gotten worse and they go very fast around the curve and then they lose control,” Sheila added.