St. Paul building will be demolished after early morning fire
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A mixed-use building in St. Paul will be demolished Wednesday afternoon after an early morning fire devastated the structure.
The building's sole occupant says she's grateful to make it out with her life.
The St. Paul Fire Department says they were called to University Avenue West and Milton Street North just before 3 a.m. after tenant Maria Guevara reported a fire in her bedroom.
"[I] was sleeping around 2:30 in the morning, and was listening to the alarms. [I] woke up and saw a lot of smoke. [I]went to the roof and opened the window," Guevara said through the help of a translator Wednesday morning.
She then said she jumped from the window, and the neighbor next to the building caught her.
A WCCO crew at the scene saw firefighters breaking through boarded-up windows to get inside. Firefighters soon found fire in the basement but had to retreat because the flames were out of control. Firefighters switched to defense mode and began dousing the building's exterior with water.
At one point, a firefighter in the building's basement made a "Mayday" call – momentarily unable to get to safety.
"I think in this situation, we're actually very fortunate – basement fires are very difficult to fight," said St. Paul Deputy Fire Chief Roy Mokosso. "Obviously, heat rises. As you're trying to go down those stairs, you have hot gasses, you have hot fire coming up at you."
That firefighter, along with two others who momentarily could not be contacted via radio, were able to make it out safely.
WCCO's crew witnessed the building's roof collapse about 4.5 hours into the firefight.
Guevara says she's grateful to make it out safely.
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"[I] am very, very grateful, with God, because [I'm] still here," Guevara said. "I [still have] my life."
Guevara was the only person inside when the fire broke out. The brick building has two apartments on the top floor, while the main floor previously hosted businesses. One of the apartments was unoccupied.
St. Paul Fire Department Deputy Chief Roy Mokosso said the building will be torn down Wednesday afternoon "because it presents a safety hazard." Eastbound University Avenue is expected to be shut down until the demolition is complete and debris is cleared.
Metro Transit says Green Line trains are running at restricted speeds. Fire officials say about half the block is without power so crews can operate safely, and an Xcel Energy crew is also at the scene.
The fire's cause is under investigation.
