A blaze overnight Tuesday at a Minneapolis encampment jumped to a home next door, destroying it and displacing its residents. It was the second similar fire in the area in just two weeks.
Fire responders were dispatched Tuesday just before 10:30 p.m. on a report of tents on fire at an encampment that had spread to a house next door on the 2400 block of 15th Avenue South, according to police scanner audio.
Arriving responders aired that the encampment was fully engulfed in fire and propane tanks were exploding. Responders aired that houses on either side of the vacant lot containing the encampment were being impinged upon by the fire.
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Submitted pictures (1-2) of the encampment at 24xx 15th Ave S in @MplsWard9 prior to last night's fire that destroyed the camp and jumped to a house next door, which was also destroyed (3-4). pic.twitter.com/PfJRKoUEQb— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) December 11, 2024
The house to the south of the encampment was evacuated before fire was spotted going through the roof.
Photos and videos submitted to Crime Watch from during the blaze showed a large area of fire. Photos from the aftermath showed the house to the south of the encampment boarded, and the house to the north with exterior siding melted.
The empty lot where the encampment was located is owned by the city of Minneapolis in City Council member Jason Chavez’s Ward 9. Chavez has been a vocal opponent of evicting encampments from neighborhoods.
Authorities later told media that no one was injured in the fire, but eight people were displaced from the home that caught fire.
A similar fire at an encampment just two weeks ago on the 2200 block of 16th Avenue South also damaged a nearby home in Jamal Osman’s Ward 6, according to the Minneapolis Fire Department.
Alpha News previously reported that Mayor Jacob Frey and MPD Chief Brian O’Hara have been butting heads with City Council members over the existence of encampments and their evictions for several months, with several council members opposed to encampment evictions. Mayor Frey has previously stated that it’s not for lack of housing that the encampments exist; it comes down to fentanyl addiction, he said.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
