Originally published June 2
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — Fire gutted a historic building Thursday that’s part of Fort Snelling’s Upper Post.
Minneapolis Fire Chief Bryan Tyner says multiple 911 calls about the fire at Building 53 — also known as the Historic Fort Snelling Officer’s Building — started coming in at about 2:30 p.m. When crews arrived, 40-50 mph winds were blowing the fire through the roof of the three-story brick building “like a tornado.”
Tyner says workers inside were “lucky to get out,” with the last of the workers coming out when crews arrived.
Two firefighters suffered minor hand burns from melting tar that blew off the roof. Wind caused flames to blow 60 feet into the air, and firefighters were concerned it could jump onto nearby buildings. But they were able to hold it to the one building.
(credit: MnDOT)
Some spot fires popped up across the highway from blowing debris. Tyner says the bulk of the fire was out by the early evening.
The Officer’s Building, which was built in 1903 and decommissioned in 2006, is one of 26 Fort Snelling buildings being converted into 200 affordable housing units by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
State, county and Minneapolis fire investigators are working in tandem to figure out the cause. Chief Tyner says it would be speculation to say if construction caused the fire, but work was being done on the building Thursday.
Tyner says someone from the construction company that’s restoring the building was on site Thursday evening, and they are going to attempt to continue restoration of the building because its shell is still intact.