Two tenants died last weekend as a result of a fire in an eight-unit apartment building in Duluth. The names of the deceased have not yet been released, pending notification of family members.
The Duluth Fire Department was called to 631 E. Third St. at about 6 a.m. Saturday, and firefighters arrived within about three minutes of dispatch, encountering smoke and quickly advancing flames, said Deputy Chief of Operations Mike Consie.
Consie did not have details about exactly how many people were in the building at the time of the call but said a number of tenants were rescued by firefighters, and others were able to make their way out of the building on their own. One woman was rescued from a second-story window, using a ladder truck and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, where she was pronounced dead late Saturday afternoon.
During a subsequent rescue attempt in the same unit, firefighters were forced to evacuate when the interior “flashed over,” or was fully engulfed in flame, according to a release issued by the fire department Saturday evening. The subject of that second rescue attempt was found dead at the scene.
Two firefighters sustained burns while working to save people from the building. Consie said they were taken to urgent care, where they were treated and released.
Crews rescued several cats from the building, but some succumbed to the fire and smoke.
The address of the fire is all too familiar to local firefighters. This is the third fatal fire they’ve responded to at the building, with previous deaths there occurring in August 2020 and April 2021 .
