ROBBINSDALE, Minn. - A roaring fire tore through an apartment complex in Robbinsdale Friday morning, summoning firefighters from across the metro to battle the blaze.
Robbinsdale's Fire Marshall Greg Bodin says the fire was called in around 1:30 a.m. from the Beach South at the Lakes apartments on the 4200 block of 46th Avenue North. First responders ran from door to door, knocking and waking residents so they could escape. People living in all 12 units got out unharmed.
Three firefighters were sent to the hospital with minor burns.
Authorities say the fire may have been caused by a cigarette, according to their preliminary investigation. However, the investigation is still ongoing.
Nicole Green recently moved to the complex. She got a call to tell her the building was on fire.
"I threw down my phone, grabbed my cat and my laptop and got out," she said.
The fire continued to escalate, eventually reaching 5-alarms. More than 100 firefighters from 13 metro departments worked the fire from both exterior and interior positions. The three firefighters who were injured were treated and released at North Memorial Hospital.
Bodin says part of the problem has been a rash of fires the past three nights that have required fire crews from the same city departments to be called out, and fatigue is beginning to set in.
"We've had several significant fires, this is the third night in a row, and many of the same departments, many of the same crews have been fighting these fires night after night," he said. "So it's kind of exhausting, it's tiring."
Twelve residents have been displaced due to the fire.