As the investigation began into how the fire started, one body was found in the rubble of the Cedar-Riverside building.
The New
Year’s Day apartment fire in Minneapolis claimed its first fatality
Thursday as investigators and CenterPoint Energy debated whether natural
gas was a potential cause of the explosion that sparked the fire.
Fire Chief John Fruetel
said investigators were focusing on natural gas as a likely cause of the
explosion that ignited the fire in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood,
although he said that weeks of investigation likely will be required to
determine the cause.
However, a spokeswoman for CenterPoint Energy strongly discounted gas as the culprit. “We had no natural gas
in the area,” said Rebecca Virden, who based her assertion on the
utility’s investigation and testing in the area. If the blast were due
to were natural gas, Virden added, “the roof would come off, the walls
would come out.” If a gas were involved, she said, “it could be a different type of gas.” Asked about CenterPoint’s denial, Fruetel said, “I’m just basing it on what my investigators say.”
He said that witness
accounts of a natural gas smell and the type of explosion suggest gas
was involved. He said that investigators early on ruled out an explosive
device, despite the presence of Department of Homeland Security
personnel on Wednesday.
At least 14 people were
injured, six of them critically. The body of a fire victim was
discovered Thursday afternoon as excavating equipment began knocking
down walls of the gutted three-story building shared by a grocery and 10
apartments.
Imam Sharif Mohamed from
the mosque next door was escorted to the building to pray over the body
before it was removed by the Hennepin County medical examiner’s office.
The victim has not been identified. Besides the body found
Thursday, one other person remains unaccounted for, authorities said.
One of those hospitalized hasn’t yet been identified, Fruetel said.
Help for victims announced
Meanwhile, plans to
raise aid for the victims blossomed, including a dedicated bank account,
a benefit concert and an offer to the neighbor mosque to share space
while its building is repaired.
Family members
identified the two people not accounted for as Mrimri Farah, said to be
about 60 years old, and Ahmad Ali, 57, who shared an apartment. Ali’s
ex-wife Hawo Daqare said they divorced in 2006 but continued to share
parenting of their son. “I feel very bad, but I cannot do anything. Imagine if you lost someone,” she said.
She said Ali lived in Apartment No. 6 on the second floor.
Farah previously served
in the U.S. Army and at one point was stationed in Iraq, said Shareef
Hassan, a friend. Farah had gone to live in Somalia and came back to
live in Minneapolis a couple of months ago.
University of Minnesota
Medical Center, Fairview, said that it was treating at least two
victims, one in serious condition with broken bones and another in good
condition with back pain. They were not identified. A Red Cross official
said it had helped two victims and stood ready with housing, food,
clothing and mental health counseling for others displaced.
Mosque displaced
The fire also displaced
the Masjid Dar Al-Hijrah mosque and the Islamic Civic Society of America
from their building that wraps around the destroyed grocery-apartment
building. Basim Sabri, who renovated the mosque building, estimated that
it will be unusable for six months.
The building reeked of
smoke and had broken glass on the floor as mosque leaders led U.S. Rep.
Keith Ellison, D-Minn., through the building. “I’ve been in this
building many times,” said Ellison, the first Muslim in Congress. “It’s
really tragic because I feel like I’m a part of that mosque a little
bit.”
Sabri said that although
water was 28 inches deep in the basement of the mosque and mechanical
systems were damaged, it appeared that the building sustained no
structural damage. The mosque said that Friday prayers will be held at
the nearby Brian Coyle Community Center. Sabri has offered space in one
of his buildings on E. Lake Street, and Rabbi Michael Adam Latz of Shir
Tikvah synagogue said that “we would be delighted to welcome them into
our space.” Latz and Mohamed met on Mayor Betsy Hodges’ transition
advisory committee. The mosque’s board will decide on where to hold
prayers. “The firefighters did a
great job,” said Wali Dirie, executive director of the mosque and
society. “They kept the fire from reaching our building.”
‘A Minnesota tragedy’
The area’s City Council
member-elect, Abdi Warsame, appeared with officials at an afternoon news
briefing. “This is a Minneapolis tragedy. This is a Minnesota tragedy.
This is not just an East African tragedy. This is not just a
Cedar-Riverside tragedy,” he said. Hodges, elected in November over
firefighter union opposition, extended an olive branch. “I’m am grateful
that we have such people taking care of our community,” she said.
The Confederation of
Somali Community in Minnesota said it had opened a Wells Fargo Bank
account to aid victims and their families. More information will be
available on the organization’s website at http://csc-mn.org.
Confederation Director
Mohamud Noor said that Sherman Associates has offered interim housing
for victims in unoccupied units of its Riverside Plaza, which towers
beside the ruined building. Augsburg College and the Cedar Cultural
Center are organizing a benefit concert at the Cedar, just down Cedar
Avenue from the building, for Jan. 24, according to a college
spokeswoman. The destroyed building
was built in 1886, the same year as former West Bank landmark Dania
Hall, just 200 feet away and also erased by fire in 2000.
http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/238536431.html
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