Minneapolis Fire investigators say the fire that killed five people inside a high-rise apartment building in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood Wednesday morning was accidental, but an exact cause may not be known for some time.
Fire Chief John Fruetel offered his condolences to the families affected by the 14th floor fire. He said when firefighters got to the scene at around 4 a.m., they could not see the flames because of heavy snow and wind. The chief says they believe the fire had been burning for a considerable amount of time.
"It burned long enough to actually burst the glass," he said. "As soon as that happened we had flames that were blowing out 15 feet. Two windows were out and now you can imagine with the winds we had this morning, it was very similar to a blast furnace."
Fruetel says some of the floors had sprinklers and the alarm sounded but they are still looking into how the system worked.
The building is owned and operated by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority.
"This event is unprecedented in MPHA's history, and there are no words to express our sense of loss for the residents that our staff, our dedicated staff, see every day," interim director Tracey Scott said. "We consider them friends and we care for them very deeply."
Gov. Tim Walz also expressed his condolences at the capitol Wednesday.
