City Council President Elliott Payne and Minneapolis Fire Chief Bryan Tyner address the crowd at the Oct. 8 town hall. (Mark Peterson)
With a handful of residents in attendance at the Logan Park Recreation Center on Oct. 8, Ward 1 Minneapolis City Council Member Elliott Payne joined Minneapolis Fire Chief Bryan Tyner for a town hall to address concerns on a recent string of fires in Northeast.
The event itself was timely. October was Fire Prevention Month, which encourages residents, community members and businesses to learn ways to prevent fires, review safety tips and refresh fire safety plans.
Most notably, Payne and Tyner discussed the Aaron Carlson buildings at 1505 Central Ave. NE. The buildings collapsed following a fire on Sept. 7. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, Tyner explained at the town hall, due to the severity of the damage. When construction crews hired by Hempel Real Estate began moving large concrete pieces onsite, voids opened up, revealing pockets of burning debris.
The Northeaster has reached out to Hempel Real Estate for comment about their response to the fire but has not heard back by the time of reporting. A representative from Hempel Real Estate has said that the company is “still active with the property.” There were no injuries.
Additionally, Tyner highlighted the fire that occurred at Momo Sushi, 1839 Central Ave. NE, on Aug. 31. His team believes the fire was most likely caused by “soot in the hood,” referring to kitchen air ducts in the room where the fire started. No one was injured in the fire.
As for the Sept. 24 fire at a duplex at 922 22nd Ave. NE, where one person died, Tyner’s team determined the fire was caused by arson. The suspect has been charged with first-degree arson and second-degree murder.
None of the fires are connected, Tyner said.
After recapping these cases and sharing fire prevention tips, Payne and Tyner opened the floor to resident questions.
Payne emphasized that he would like to update city fire code to require more regular inspections of air ducts and other potential fire-inducing practices and equipment.
“That big missing piece is the role of regulatory services,” Payne said. “Not just our fire inspectors, but how we’re managing all of these code violations and being proactive about it.”
Tyner weighed in on the issue of fire code relative to inspections.
“What we’re seeing now is a lot of these kinds of open flame cooking operations — you know, that soot and that — byproducts of combustion are getting caught up in the hood and causing fires there,” Tyner said. He said fire code hasn’t been amended over the years as much as it should have, which results in hazards. “We’re looking at amending that to make those inspections more often.”
Towards the end of the town hall, residents also brought up staffing issues with 311 in response to the message of “see something, say something” by officials when potential fire hazards are in public view.
“I think (311 is) very good at triaging and getting things into the right hands. I don’t think we’re always really good at the operational capacity to meet the actual service level agreement,” Payne said.
Tyner explained further, saying that 311 sends complaints to inspectors, who then go out to mark the violation but now have to give landlords a chance to resolve said violation.
“Everybody gets due process, right?” Tyner said.
Payne also said the city council was considering what’s been dubbed the STOP Slumlords Ordinance, which sets a new standard for licenses to be renewed if the property is below city standards. The goal of the ordinance is to encourage proactive behavior about properties which are in poor condition and may be more prone to fires, Payne explained. The Council unanimously approved the ordinance on Oct. 9, which is set to go into effect on January 1, 2027.