By Dan Wascoe
Star Tribune
Copyright 2006 Star Tribune
All Rights Reserved
BURNSVILLE, Minn, -- On the night after Christmas, more than 200 Burnsville apartment dwellers had to forget about a long winter’s nap.
Fire and smoke drove them and their unusually large number of pets from 73 of 74 units in a three-story building at the Woods of Burnsville development about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday. Many wore pajamas and wrapped themselves in blankets to keep warm while waiting for help.
Paul Suter, 26, who has muscular dystrophy, was taken to a hospital after he inhaled smoke. He called the experience “stressful,” but he was released early Tuesday afternoon and was taken to accommodations arranged by the American Red Cross.
Red Cross volunteers said they arranged similar shelter for 48 to 50 other residents.
Most of the rest were staying with relatives and friends. Fire officials and building managers said they don’t know when residents will be allowed to resume living in their apartments.
Red Cross volunteer Jon Connolly said he had “never seen so many pets” in similar circumstances - more cats than dogs and at least a few turtles. Gwen Millard, manager of the complex, said the Woods is one of the few apartment developments in Burnsville that accept pets, including large dogs.
The barking of a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Bailey awoke Chris Bond, 23, and Monica Weber, 22, in their third-floor apartment. After Weber noticed flashing lights from fire and police vehicles, a firefighter knocked on their door and told them how to exit the smoke-filled halls.
Weber grabbed Bailey and Bond grabbed his new video camera - a gift from Weber - before they left. He filmed some of the ensuing action before driving to Weber’s parents’ house in Chaska.
Millard said residents will not be allowed back until she learns the results of tests about the apartments’ safety, including possible asbestos contamination. That could take at least a couple of days. Meanwhile, some residents are being allowed in with escorts to retrieve medicines and a limited amount of valuables. Security guards are posted at the building’s entrance.
Although no fire damage is apparent from the outside, workers were tearing down interior walls, some near a trash compactor where residents said several previous fires have started. The compactor is fed by trash chutes from upper floors.
Doug Nelson, Burnsville’s fire marshal, said there were no signs that the fire was set and no obvious indications of its origin.
He said 22 firefighters from Burnsville and seven from Apple Valley were called to help.
Residents said they heard smoke alarms and saw ladders extended to the two upper floors, but Nelson said he knew of no rescues that had to be made that way.
“The walls did their jobs, the doors did their jobs and the firefighters did theirs,” he said.
The 23-year-old development, managed by Denver-based AIMC, has 400 units in six buildings.
Daryl Wilson, 56, praised the Red Cross after he and his 88-year-old mother, Irene, had to flee. Wilson said his mother, who uses a walker and a wheelchair, seemed unfazed by the morning’s events. But he was grateful that the Red Cross helped replace his mother’s prescription medicine.
Meanwhile, Connolly and fellow volunteer John Vinje said they were surprised by the “great patience” of their new clients.
“I can’t think of a single person who got upset,” Connolly said. “Maybe everybody had a good Christmas.”