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Duluth Fire Department responds to structure fire at 315 S 69th Avenue W

[DULUTH, MN] At 2:44 AM this morning, Duluth Fire Department was dispatched to a call of a structure fire at 315 S 69th Avenue W. 8 Quint was first to arrive and was on scene at 2:48 AM, arriving to find heavy smoke and flames coming from multiple windows in the front of a two-story residence with 911 reporting individuals trapped on the first story porch roof. One half of the 8Q crew laddered the roof to rescue one of the two individuals trapped while the other half of the crew worked to attack the fire. The second individual escaped the porch roof by jumping down to the deck below as crews arrived.

Crews from 10 Engine, 1 Tower, 2 Engine, Rescue 1, and 8 Quint responded to attack the fire. Three cats were reported missing in the fire. Crews were able to locate one of the three pet cats, but the cat was found deceased. The other two cats remain missing. Approximately $75,000 in damage was estimated in damage to the building. No injuries were reported by either the residents or the crews on scene. The two residents displaced by the fire are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross.

During the incident, our crews had to stop a motorist from attempting to drive over a charged five-inch hydrant line. Duluth Fire cannot stress enough the importance of NOT driving over hydrant lines, regardless of whether or not they are charged with water. This puts our equipment, people’s property, and most importantly, our staff in jeopardy. When crews are working on our emergency scenes, it is critical to DFD’s success that motorists find an alternate route to avoid putting our staff and equipment in danger.

Duluth Fire Department thanks their partners at Saint Louis County 911 dispatch for their assistance in the response to this incident, as well as Duluth Police Department, Mayo Ambulance, Minnesota Power, and the American Red Cross. This incident remains under investigation by the Duluth Fire Marshal’s office.

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