Crews battle St. Paul apartment fire; residents evacuated before roof collapse

Crews worked to contain a fire on Monday in a 20-unit apartment building near St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. The St. Paul Fire Department says crews were able to evacuate the building — located near the corner of Randolph and Fairview avenues in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood — before the roof collapsed. Crews also evacuated people in neighboring buildings. As of late Monday morning, the fire department says there are no reported injuries. "There wasn't heavy fire when we pulled up," Jamie Smith, deputy fire chief of the St. Paul Fire Department, said. "When we got to the top floors, we recognized this was an attic fire." As crews extinguished the flames, questions arose. Dan Chulla, one of the residents who escaped the fire with his wife and their child, said the power at the facility seemed off-kilter Sunday night. "Even the hallway lights were just dimming and coming back, dimming and coming back," Chulla said. Chulla added that he's glad everyone is safe. Officials say there was "large water damage" in the area due to the firefight, and members of the city's safety and inspections department were at the scene to "assist and assess structural integrity" on Monday afternoon. In: Apartment Fire St. Paul Fire Featured Local Savings