Dec 23, 2008 2:15 pm US/Central
Residents Escape Huge Apartment Fire In Burnsville
BURNSVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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There were no reports of injuries at the Burncliff Apartments in Burnsville as residents boarded buses and were taken to nearby Burnsville High School.
CBS
A 64-unit apartment building in this southern Twin Cities suburb was destroyed by fire Monday, forcing hundreds of people to find shelter elsewhere.
Flames and smoke shot high into the frigid sky at the Burncliff Apartments for several hours.
There were no reports of injuries.
Crews from at least five departments responded to the fire, which started about 4:15 Monday afternoon. After more than two hours of burning, the complex roof collapsed into the smoldering rubble.
The Burncliff Apartments are located at 12312 Parkwood Drive. The complex is near County Road 13 between Interstate 35W and Highway 77 just south of the Twin Cities.
Witnesses said the fire started in the third floor of the building in a laundry room and spread quickly. But investigators said it was too early to know exactly what started the flames.
In all, about 360 people were evacuated from the destroyed building as well as a building nearby, Burnsville Police Sgt. Dan Carlson said.
All 64 units in the burning building were considered a complete loss, Carlson said.
The fight against the massive fire was only complicated by the frigid temperatures. As about 120 fire and rescue team members worked, temperatures plunged below zero.
Firefighters rotated shifts in subzero temperatures to get the fire under control. At one point they used several ladder trucks to spray water on the blaze from above.
"The cold is making it very difficult for all of the responders," said Carlson.
He said the crews were taking breaks in warm buses that had been brought in to help. He noted that he was happy to report that all of the equipment had been working well in the extreme cold.
Carlson said he expected firefighters to be working through the night. He said they were mostly working on keeping flames from spreading to a nearby apartment complex. It was evacuated as a precaution.
Other buses were also brought in to take people from both buildings to Burnsville High School so they could get out of the cold.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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