After Back-To-Back Fires At Homeless Encampments, Minneapolis Firefighters Concerned City Could See More

After Back-To-Back Fires At Homeless Encampments, Minneapolis Firefighters Concerned City Could See More

MINNEAPOLIS — Two homeless encampments that went up in flames Monday in south Minneapolis have now been cleared out.

Minneapolis city employees spent Tuesday cleaning up debris at an encampment located at the corner of Columbus Avenue and East Lake Street, and another encampment located near the corner of East 29th Street and 14th Avenue.

Minneapolis Assistant Fire Chief Melanie Rucker says the fire near Columbus Avenue and East Lake Street was started by burning debris.

She says firefighters found several propane tanks nearby that were dangerously close to catching fire.

“Firefighters had to cool down the propane tanks to prevent a much larger fire from happening,” Rucker says.

Firefighters say the 2nd fire near the corner of 29th and 14th was much larger and more dangerous.

“Pretty much the whole encampment was on fire. It was spreading rapidly throughout the tents,” Rucker says.

Firefighters who responded to that fire reported hearing several propane tanks exploding in the encampment.

Rucker says firefighters had to fight the fire from a distance to stay away from potential shrapnel from the propane tanks.

“When these tanks rupture the metal container itself can separate and fly out and cause shrapnel that can injure someone as well as cause death,” Rucker says.

Both of these encampment fires happened within the city’s 9th ward, which is represented by Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez.

"Around 230 people were displaced,” Chavez says.

“This is the 3rd encampment fire that I know of in my ward in the past month.”

Chavez believes the city doesn't have enough shelter space, especially low barrier space that is more accommodating for people who are struggling with drug addiction.

Chavez says many who live in the encampments do so because they're dealing with addiction and they can't give up their drugs completely, so they often can’t stay in the shelters.

"The issue is going to keep moving block to block if there isn't a solution in sight,” Chavez explains.

Minneapolis firefighters are also concerned the city could see more fires in the coming weeks.

"They are out in this environment, it's extremely cold and they do need to stay warm,” Rucker says.

“With temperatures being this low, fires are going to pick up. People are going to do what they believe is necessary to stay warm.”

The City of Minneapolis also responded to the fires with an official statement.

The following statement came from Minneapolis Director of Regulatory Services Enrique Velazquez.

The City worked with Metro Transit last night to provide a bus for use as a temporary warming station overnight. MPD and City Security patrolled the areas last night to discourage people from returning to the sites to prevent possible impacts from potential environmental risks.

The City worked with Involve, located at Agate Housing and Food Services Food Centre. Involve opened early this morning, and the City’s Homeless Response Team (HRT) was on-site early as well to help people in need of support or other services. Public Works teams are also finishing clean-up today.

The bottom line is encampments are not safe any time of year. That’s especially true now with increased propane tank use during the winter months, as we have seen multiple fires at encampments because of their usage. The City and County work in partnership to offer services and shelter to people that need it.

SOURCE: KARE 11