Pioneer Press
(TNS)
Crews are demolishing a building on St. Paul’s University Avenue Wednesday after a large fire.
No injuries were reported in the Summit-University area blaze, according to Deputy Chief Roy Mokosso.
The fire at University Avenue and Milton Street caused “significant structural collapse,” making it unstable and presenting a safety hazard, which was the reason for demolition, Mokosso said.
Signs on the first floor of the building at 918 W. University Ave. said “Viva Video” and “ House of Curiosities,” with a sign saying it sold adult books, novelties and gifts. The business closed last year, according to the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections. There were still contents inside, Mokosso said.
Two apartments were above the business — one vacant and the other occupied.
The fire department responded to a report of a basement fire in the building about 2:50 a.m. There was a report of an occupant who escaped from a second-story window and onto a roof, and a neighbor with an extension ladder helped the person down; that was before firefighters arrived, Mokosso said.
A firefighter at the scene had difficulty getting out at one point, Mokosso said, and used a “mayday” call for help, but was able to get out.
“We risk a lot to save a lot,” Mokosso said. Firefighters needed to search whether anyone else was inside, and there wasn’t, and they were trying to save the building.
The first crew was on scene less than four minutes after being dispatched, according to Mokosso. The fire had extended to other floors and “firefighting operations in the basement were difficult,” Mokosso said. Because of the conditions, firefighters needed to exit the building and fight the blaze from the exterior.
Mokosso said a “mayday” call for help is unusual. He said his understanding is some material in the basement shifted, covering firefighters’ hoses and shutting a door behind them.
Two other firefighters in the area helped the firefighter and they all worked together to get out, but there was concern because they initially couldn’t be reached on their emergency radios when they were assisting the other firefighter. The department’s had 36 hours of Rapid Intervention Team training in the last year, as well as self-extrication training for firefighters, but they didn’t need to send a team in.
“In this situation we’re probably very fortunate,” Mokosso said. “Basement fires are very difficult to fight. Obviously, heat rises and as you’re trying to go down those stairs, you have hot gases, you have fire coming … up at you.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Sixty-one firefighters responded.
Crews stayed on the scene through the night and into Wednesday afternoon.
Eastbound traffic on University Avenue is being rerouted in the area due to the demolition and fire department’s work.
The building was constructed in 1916 for an estimated $8,000, according to building permit information held by the Ramsey County Historical Society. A donut shop was listed as owning the building in the 1940s, the Historical Society found. It was licensed as a grocery store in 1992, according to the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections.
Frederick Melo contributed to this report.
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