St. Anthony Apartment Fire Deemed Suspicious; $5,000 Reward Offered For Information

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Officials say an apartment fire early Friday morning in St. Anthony appears to have been intentionally set, adding that there's a reward up to $5,000 for information leading to the person responsible.

The St. Anthony Police Department says fire crews responded around 2:45 a.m. to the Equinox Apartments on the 2800 block of Silver Lane, where firefighters found flames in the third floor hallway. Immediately, firefighters began evacuating residents.

In the room closest to the fire, a woman and her young child were found and escorted out. Across the hall, a man had to be rescued from the third floor balcony because the hallway was clogged with smoke.

While paramedics evaluated some apartment residents and first responders at the scene, no one was hurt in the fire, officials say.

Due to the suspicious nature of the fire, it is being investigated by the Minnesota State Fire Marshal, the Hennepin County Crime Lab and the city fire department.

Anyone with information on the fire is asked to call the Arson Hotline (1-800-723-2020), CrimeStoppers (1-800-222-8477) or the St. Anthony Police Department (612-782-3350.)