Jul 13, 2007 12:07 am US/Central
Plymouth Apt. Fire Leaves Dozens Homeless
Plymouth, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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More than 200 people were evacuated from the three-story building, which has 211 units.
CBS
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Firefighters worked to put out a fire at the Plymouth Oaks Apartments on July 12, 2007.
CBS
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Traffic management cameras show smoke from the apartment building fire at the Plymouth Oaks Apartments.
MnDOT
A fire gutted a large part of the third floor of an apartment building in Plymouth, Minn. Thursday morning leaving dozens homeless.
The fire broke out around 9:30 a.m. at the Plymouth Oaks Apartments located near the intersection of Highway 169 and Medicine Lake Road.
More than 200 people were evacuated from the three-story building, which has 211 units.
According to the Red Cross, 20 people are being housed in a temporary shelter Thursday night. Because power had to be cut to half of the apartment complex, 105 units are not open to be lived for the night.
Everyone who was inside the building made it out safely, authorities said. The building is pet-friendly and firefighters are searching for several dogs and cats that lived in the building.
Animal control and other agencies were also brought in to help rescue pets.
Officials said they did get a good number of animals out, including the pets believed to be in the apartment where the fire originated.
One resident, who was one of the first to get out of the building, said that he only saw flames surrounding an air conditioning unit. That caused some to speculate that it was an electrical fire. However, the official cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
The building was constructed in 1971. The building had a series of fire walls which kept the fire from spreading. The building did not have sprinklers, but alarms did sound.
The Red Cross is helping the victims of the fire. They will be organizing an assistance center at Armstrong High School starting at 8:30 a.m. Friday. Families are being asked to go there to find out what other help they can get.
Five fire departments worked to put out the fire.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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