Firefighters worked to battle the blaze from the Sociable Cider Werks parking lot. (Davis Steen)
Early in the morning of September 7, a fire broke out in a vacant lumber warehouse located at 1503-1505 Central Ave. NE. Crews from the Minneapolis Fire Department were dispatched to the location at about 4:13 a.m. to douse the three-alarm fire, which ultimately spread to several other buildings.
At approximately 5:38 a.m., the Fire Department reported that four buildings had caught fire, but that each of the buildings was abandoned.
At time of reporting, the fire’s cause is still undetermined. According to Minneapolis Fire officials, the buildings’ utility lines were disconnected before the fire broke out.
Firefighters were initially unable to access the fire due to gated parking lots, trees and a pile of tires blocking an access road. As of 6 p.m. on September 7, fire crews were still at the site working to put out the blaze, using a pair of aerial ladder water towers to aim water at the fire.
No injuries have been reported, and the Department has said there is no risk of the fire spreading to other areas. Firefighters didn’t find anyone in any building they were able to enter, although they weren’t able to enter every building due to fires and danger posed by collapsing structures.