Crews battle 4 fires in less than 24 hours in Minneapolis

Updated 8:35 a.m. | Posted 5:52 a.m.

Minneapolis firefighters responded to at least four residential fires across the city between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. One person was taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

Assistant Chief Cherie Penn said the fires are unrelated. Two of Monday night's fires occurred in residential high-rises.

"When it comes to a residential high-rise, there's always that potential that there's somebody not answering the door or not home," Penn said. "A building is not empty until we say it's empty — so those searches are critical."

Crews knocked down fires at 315 Lowry Ave. N., 15 E. Grant St., 46 St. Mary's Ave. and 1407 Dupont Ave. N.

The first fire was reported just before 3 p.m. Monday on the fifth floor of a high-rise on East Grant Street, near the Minneapolis Convention Center. That blaze was extinguished quickly and no one was found in the search.

Just before 4 p.m., crews responded to a report of an eighth-floor fire at the Lowry Towers building on Lowry Avenue North. One resident was treated for smoke inhalation.

An hour and a half later, a unit in a townhome complex in Prospect Park burned.

And on Tuesday morning, a seemingly vacant house in the city's Near North neighborhood caught fire. Crews got that fire under control within an hour.

Fire officials are investigating the incidents and will gauge when residents will be able to return. An adult and child displaced by the townhouse fire on St. Mary's Avenue are seeking assistance from the Red Cross. The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority is also assisting displaced residents of the north Minneapolis high-rise.

Fire Marshal Perry Ebner said there's usually an uptick in fires during the winter due to use of heating equipment or careless use of stoves or candles. Ebner said residents should change the batteries in their smoke detectors and have their furnace checked out.

"Do the maintenance and upkeep of the furnace or other elements you have," Ebner said. "Contact your service provider such as CenterPoint Energy to have them do a full cleaning and maintenance of your equipment to be sure it's operating properly."