By Paul Walsh
Star Tribune
MINNEAPOLIS — One north Minneapolis house fire late at night killed one woman and left another in critical condition, while a second fire at a home elsewhere in the city had a firefighter suffering from heat exhaustion, a Fire Department official said.
A 39-year-old woman died Wednesday in a house fire about 12:20 a.m. in the 2100 block of Emerson Avenue N., and a 78-year-old woman is fighting for her life in the hospital, according to Assistant Fire Chief Bryan Tyner.
The fire started on the first floor, and the two women were on the second floor at the time. Tyner said the blaze was under control in about an hour.
The Red Cross was tending to eight people displaced from the residence.
About 9:30 a.m., a young woman was outside the home and on her phone.
Minneapolis: Howard St fire now 2nd alarm, exterior attack as flames are through the roof. 1 FF w/ injuries. #wcco pic.twitter.com/nGSYOERgp3
— Joel Thurston (@joelcam4) November 23, 2016
“Thank you, God, for saving us,” she said when a media member asked her whether she lived in the house.
She said she has two children and remained confident that she’ll still enjoy her Thanksgiving.
The other blaze occurred about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday at a two and a half-story home in the 2300 block of Howard Street NE. just south of Lowry Avenue, Tyner said. The fire started on the second floor and spread to the attic before it was extinguished, he said.
That’s where the firefighter was overcome.
The spokesman said both houses are likely total losses, and the causes of the fires remain under investigation.
Copyright 2016 the Star Tribune