There is the sound of fire crews on Lake Street Friday morning as they continue to pour thousands of gallons of water on a two -alarm fire that continues to burn. It's at the site of the former Kmart store at Lake and Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis.
Fire crews were called to the scene around 5:00 Friday morning where they were greeted by fierce flames.
There are now reports of a partial building collapse with at least one wall coming down, and in the last half hour there are reports of a second wall coming down. Minneapolis Fire is providing an update for the media around 8:00 a.m. As of now, there is no cause determined for the fire.
"Right now we don't know how the fire was started, we're just trying to contain it right now," said Melanie Rucker who is Assistant Chief of the Minneapolis Fire Department. She adds that utility companies are on site to shut off gas, which has been detected in the building.
Rucker said they expect to fight this fire for much of Friday which will include getting inside the building to take out what she described as "hot spots".
Ben Premack told WCCO's Al Schoch what he saw early on.
"I was bringing my friend to the airport, we were coming down 94 through the tunnel around 5:15 or so," said Premack. "And smoke was going over 35 and it was crowded. You could still smell it to probably 35th Street, 46th."
Cindy Pinska works nearby and says while she's not happy the building went up in flames, there may be a silver lining.
"I don't know, I think it might be good," Pinska told WCCO. "Get that building cleaned out. Now people can't go in there and squat. Clear out another abandoned building. Hopefully something better can go there."
The building has been vacant for years and the property has been the subject of much discussion of late, as the city decides what to do with the property.
"Because of the extensive damage, that is probably going to happen sooner rather than later," Rucker explains about tearing down the building.
The site of the story has always been controversial dating back to when it was built in the late 70's. The lot cut off Nicollet Avenue at Lake Street which many residents said ruined the neighborhood.
Since closing in 2020, the old Kmart lot has been fenced off for months with the city attempting to keep people from wandering on, or living on the property. There have been frequent issues with homeless encampments in the area.