VIDEO: Crews were on the scene of a large fire in northeast Minneapolis that caused several buildings to collapse early Sunday morning. Officials with the Minneapolis Fire Department say crews responded to a report of a fire around 4:13 a.m. on the 1500 block of Central Avenue Northeast. Crews arrived to find a three-story commercial building fully engulfed in flames, with the fire encroaching on adjacent buildings. The fire quickly spread to two other structures that were butted up against each other.
The Minneapolis Fire Department says crews struggled to reach the building due to a large pile of discarded tires and debris blocking the road, several locked gated parking areas and a BNSF railway bridge. Minneapolis Assistant Fire Chief Melanie Ruker said the fire hydrants were far away and some of them did not have enough water pressure to support the number of crews on the scene. Fire engines had long hose lays to fire hydrants in the area to gain enough water to supply. Four aerial ladder water towers and several large volume ground nozzle headlines were also used.
