Crime & Safety
Update: Explosion in St. Louis Park Office Building Causes Fire; 800 Employees Evacuated
Reportedly, a transformer caused the explosion.
Story by Zac Farber and James Sanna.
Updated, July 18, 1:20 p.m.: About 800 employees were evacuated from a multi-tenant office building near the 169/394 exchange after an explosion in a basement electrical room around 10:30 a.m. this morning caused a three-alarm fire that brought assistance from a dozen west metro departments.
No one was injured in the blaze, said St. Louis Park fire chief Mark Windschitl, but billowing black smoke and extreme heat conditions made turning off power and putting out flames hazardous for fire crews.
"A lot of these extra crews are because of the heat," Windschitl said. "We had an attic fire this morning so you start getting two or three of these and the length of time they can keep doing this without getting overheated [diminishes]."
Original story, July 18, 12:50 p.m.: According to the Star Tribune, tenants of an office building on the northwest side of the 169/394 interchange have been evacuated, following an explosion in the building's basement.
Several fire trucks are in front of the Metropoint 600 building, the paper reports.
Reportedly, a transformer exploded.
We will update this story further as more information becomes available.
For updates and other information about the community, join us on Patch, Like us on Facebook and follow Plymouth Patch on Twitter.
Updated, July 18, 1:20 p.m.: About 800 employees were evacuated from a multi-tenant office building near the 169/394 exchange after an explosion in a basement electrical room around 10:30 a.m. this morning caused a three-alarm fire that brought assistance from a dozen west metro departments.
No one was injured in the blaze, said St. Louis Park fire chief Mark Windschitl, but billowing black smoke and extreme heat conditions made turning off power and putting out flames hazardous for fire crews.
"A lot of these extra crews are because of the heat," Windschitl said. "We had an attic fire this morning so you start getting two or three of these and the length of time they can keep doing this without getting overheated [diminishes]."
Original story, July 18, 12:50 p.m.: According to the Star Tribune, tenants of an office building on the northwest side of the 169/394 interchange have been evacuated, following an explosion in the building's basement.
Several fire trucks are in front of the Metropoint 600 building, the paper reports.
Reportedly, a transformer exploded.
We will update this story further as more information becomes available.
For updates and other information about the community, join us on Patch, Like us on Facebook and follow Plymouth Patch on Twitter.
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