29 February 2024
A person has died after a St. Paul apartment fire, bringing the number of fire fatalities in the city to the most in 30 years, the fire department said Thursday.
Fire crews were sent to the 200 block of East University Avenue at 8:21 a.m. Feb. 18 on a report of a fire on the eighth-floor of the building. A 911 caller reported an occupant of an apartment was trapped inside, according to the fire department.
Firefighters forced entry into the apartment and found a small fire had been extinguished by automatic sprinklers. St. Paul fire paramedics transported a person from the apartment to a hospital and the department has since been notified the person died, the department said Thursday.
Investigation found the person who died had been smoking while using oxygen for medical reasons, according to the department. A dog was unharmed in the apartment.
Smoking is the leading cause of fatal fires and unattended cooking is the leading cause of all fires, the fire department said.
St. Paul averages two to three fire fatalities each year. The recent death is the seventh this year, including four children who perished after a fire in their home in January. It was caused by an unattended candle, the fire department has said. One of the other fatal fires this year was also caused by smoking and the other from cooking.
“Every single one of these has been accidental in nature, which means that it could have been prevented,” said Deputy Fire Chief Roy Mokosso. The fire department is stepping up its fire prevention education efforts and drawing attention to Project Safe Haven, a fire department program that offers free smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and stovetop fire stops in St. Paul.
The last time there were this many fire fatalities in St. Paul was 1994, when the five Coppage children were killed.
“The concern is that we’ve tied the 30-year high for fire fatalities and we have 10 months of the year left,” Mokosso said.
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