Growth and change of Northeast’s fire stations

Even before there was a Northeast Minneapolis, there was a Northeast firefighting presence. The history of fire stations in Northeast dates to 1847, beginning with the volunteer “Citizens of Saint Anthony” firefighters on the east side of the Mississippi River.

In 1856, the Minnesota Territorial Legislature officially recognized Minneapolis as a town; in 1867 it was incorporated as a city. In 1872, St. Anthony merged with Minneapolis, and the St. Anthony firefighters became part of the consolidated Minneapolis Fire Department in 1879. By then, an all-volunteer fire station had been in place for fourteen years on 13th Avenue NE.

At that time, the City had six permanent stations, with another under construction. The stations were designated by letters rather than a typical numbering system. The lettering system was abandoned with the opening of Station 19 at University Avenue SE and Oak Street.

In 1873, Minneapolis renamed Harrison Street to Central Avenue as part of a citywide naming initiative responding to the growth of the city’s population and infrastructure. A number of East Side streets got new names to replace “pioneer” names for a more standardized system.

On May 2, 1878, an explosion at the Washburn-Crosby A-Mill, the largest mill in the world at the time, killed 18 workers. The resulting fire destroyed it and several nearby mills, killing four additional millworkers. The destruction seriously impacted the city’s massive flour business, reducing production by nearly half.

This hastened the Minneapolis Fire Department’s move from volunteers to a professional city department with a paid, full-time force, citing the high fire risks of the milling and lumber industries. The department expanded rapidly to match the city’s growth, leading, in 1884, to the first commercial and residential building codes. The department initially operated with horse-drawn steam fire engines throughout the city. Horses were phased out between 1910 and 1925.

By 1900, there were a dozen operating fire stations in the city, three of them in Northeast: Station 2, at 13th Avenue NE; Station 11, at 2nd Street NE; and Station 15, at 2500 Central Avenue NE. With the increased complexity of equipment and operations, a Fire Department repair shop located downtown was deemed inadequate for the department’s needs, and a new building was constructed at University and First Avenue NE in 1909.

The project became a source of controversy when it was discovered that then-Chief James Canterbury bought a piece of land which he transferred to his cousin at a cost of $300 and offered it to the city for $9,000. The city attorney and several City Council members were implicated in the scandal.

In 1922, the repair shop expanded to include space to modify motorized vehicles, converting 48 vehicles between 1910-1926. The facility closed in 1960. The still-standing building later housed a Buick dealership and other businesses.

There are currently 19 fire stations within the city limits; Stations 2, 11 and 15 serve Northeast. Station 15, established in 1891, moved from its Central Avenue site to its current location, 2701 Johnson St. NE, in 1945. The station got an addition in 1961. 

Fire station 11, 229 6th St. SE, was built in 1925, replacing an older station located nearby at 28 2nd St. SE that dated back to 1873. The original Fire Station 2 on 13th Ave. NE was built in 1858 and was replaced at a nearby site at 143 13th Ave. NE in 1892. That building lasted 69 years until it was replaced at the same site in 1961. Station 2 fought three major fires at the Marshall Street Siwek Lumber & Millwork Corp site from 1989-1996.