Hodges pledges help for fire victims on first day in office

On a sad day for the city she was elected to lead, newly elected Mayor Betsy Hodges went ahead with a festive inauguration ceremony billed as a "kids inaugural."

But the event quickly took a somber turn.

"I can't let this day go by without saying a word about what happened yesterday," Hodges said of the fire that destroyed a Cedar-Riverside apartment building. "For the kids in the room, something sad happened for people who live here. But they're doing OK. They have a lot of their friends and their family and their neighbors from here in the city helping them out."

Investigators say it could take weeks to determine what caused the deadly fire. The blaze killed at least 1 person and injured 14, six critically.

Centerpoint Energy officials say the company found no gas leak in its distribution system in the area, but that does not include the inside of the building.

• Authorities: Body found after Cedar-Riverside fire
• Photos: Cleanup, investigation continue
• Dar Al-Hijrah mosque closes after fire next door
• Photos: Firefighters worked in brutal conditions

The fire came as the city is going through a major political transition, with its first new mayor in 12 years, and a new council member will represent the area where disaster struck.

While the city's political leadership is changing, its fire chief and other public safety officials remain the same — at least for now. Hodges said the transition to her administration has no effect on emergency response or the investigation into the cause of the fire.

Speaking to reporters after her inauguration, she pledged to help the people affected by the blaze.

"First of all, for people who are experiencing this tragedy, I carry the message that the city is with you, the city is thinking of you and the city prays for you, including me," Hodges said. "But then, it's also making sure moving forward, that the victims, that the families, that the business owners, that the neighbors get what they need to move forward, to rebuild and to thrive."

The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood is the epicenter of the Somali community in Minneapolis. Abdi Warsame, who will represent the area on the City Council when he's sworn in next week, wants to make sure the victims get all the city resources they can.

"People need shelter," Warsame said. "They lost their homes. The businessmen have lost everything that they have. And the community have lost an institution — I mean, the mosque has been damaged as well."

City officials say the Red Cross and Salvation Army are providing immediate relief to survivors, but Minneapolis does have housing and public health services available as does Hennepin County.

Both Warsame and Hodges were on the scene Wednesday along with then-mayor R.T. Rybak as firefighters battled the blaze. They then visited two hospitals to see people injured in the fire.

Rybak said it's important to show people who've suffered a tragedy that their city supports them.

"My job and Mayor Hodges' job and Council Member Warsame's job was to say, 'you're not alone. Not only are we here, but we represent the whole city,'" Rybak said.

During his 12 years as mayor, Rybak had to do that many times. He said one of the challenges of the job is moving between acting as consoler-in-chief one moment and civic cheerleader the next.

Hodges' response to the fire, he said, has shown she's ready for the job.

Rybak recalled attending an emotionally wrenching 2006 funeral for Brian Cole, an 18-year-old who'd been killed in a drive-by shooting.

"Fifteen minutes after I walked out of that hideous funeral, I was pulled up onto a stage for 'Energy Independence Day,' and they put on a three-cornered hat and we made a pledge of independence," he said. "And I remember just the hideous irony of that moment and thinking how it felt very wrong at that time, but it also is frankly just the job."