St. Paul apartment fire: Roof collapses, buildings evacuated

St. Paul apartment fire witness recalls escape A resident of a 20-unit apartment building on Randolph Avenue in St. Paul describes escaping with his wife and 15-month-old daughter as a massive fire spread through the building, eventually causing the roof to collapse. The Brief Firefighters battled a blaze at a 20-unit apartment building on the 1800 block of Randolph Avenue in St. Paul Monday morning. Residents were evacuated, along with people in neighboring buildings. Fire officials say the roof of the complex collapsed, and firefighters had to continue operations defensively. No injuries have been reported. ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Firefighters battled an apartment fire in St. Paul that caused the roof to collapse and prompted evacuations at nearby buildings Monday morning. Apartment fire in St. Paul What we know: The St. Paul Fire Department said crews responded to a fire at a 20-unit apartment building on the 1800 block of Randolph Avenue late Monday morning. The building is just east of Fairview Avenue South and north of the St. Paul Academy campus. When firefighters arrived, there were no heavy flames visible from outside. However, crews discovered the fire had spread throughout the attic, making it difficult to access and extinguish. Firefighters searched all 20 units to ensure residents had evacuated. As portions of the roof began collapsing, crews were pulled from the building and shifted to defensive operations, battling the flames from outside. The fire also prompted evacuations at two neighboring buildings due to concerns about the building possibly collapsing. Fire officials confirmed the apartment building did not have a sprinkler system, but said sprinklers were not required under the fire code. Aerial video shows damage to the roof of the apartment building in St. Paul as fire crews work. (FOX 9) What we don't know: The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith said the collapsed floors and large amount of water used to fight the flames will make determining the cause more difficult. So far, no injuries have been reported. The Red Cross was called to assist displaced residents, though it's unclear how many people were impacted by the fire. 'It happened quick' What they're saying: Dan Chulla, who lives in the apartment building with his wife and 15-month-old daughter, said his wife first noticed the smell of smoke around 8 a.m. on Monday. Chulla said he went to investigate and noticed smoke coming from the building. A neighbor later showed him a blackened area around a light fixture inside her third-floor apartment. Shortly afterward, the fire alarms began sounding, and his family evacuated. "It happened quick," Chulla said. "In the heat of the moment you worry about what's important, and then the other stuff just kind of fades out of your mind pretty quick." Chulla said his family has lived in the building since 2020, and he fears many of their belongings, including sentimental items from his daughter's first year, may be gone. "She first started to say 'moo,' and we'd put the cow pajamas on," Chulla said. "She has this little fox and hound after we watched the movie, and she's only 15 months and she'd carry them around. ... That type of stuff, I hope some of that can be gotten." Still, he said his biggest concern was that everyone made it out safely. "I'm just glad everybody's safe," Chulla said. "It's a material tragedy. ... We'll get through it, but as long as no one's hurt." The Source: This story uses information from the St. Paul Fire Department and FOX 9 crews at the scene. Fire St. Paul