St. Paul Fire Department fight structure fire for four hours

Firefighters battled a structure fire in St. Paul yesterday which sent a cloud of puffy smoke shooting high into the air.

On Monday, the St. Paul Fire Department received a call at 1156 a.m., on January 10, for a structure fire in the 4600 Block of 51 St.

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Fire Chief Trevor J. Kotowich says, “22 firefighters responded to the incident, and although it was much warmer than the week before, the cold was still hard on firefighters and equipment.”

“Initial offensive attack changed to a defensive operation as conditions became unsafe for firefighters to be inside,” Fire Chief Kotowich told Lakeland Connect.

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The fire appears to have started in the basement Fire Chief Kotowich says.

“We were on scene for about four hours,” Fire Chief Kotowich said.

A full investigation will ensue once the structure is deemed safe to be in the Chief concluded.