Hibbing Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire at the Seventh Avenue Apartments building at 3230 7th Ave. E. at 11:13 p.m. Friday, May 2.
Law enforcement arrived first on scene and reported visible smoke and flames emanating from a second-story apartment of the three-story complex. The first fire unit arrived on scene at 11:19 p.m.
Responders learned that residents were trapped on the second floor due to too much smoke in the hallway and radio traffic indicated that the resident of the apartment in which the fire was occurring was unaccounted for.
As fire crews applied water toward the apartment from the exterior, a second crew of firefighters went to the second floor to conduct a primary search for the resident, who was located and taken to an awaiting ambulance. The resident was transported to Fairview Range and later airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC).
Following the primary search, crews commenced an interior attack on the apartment and quickly put out the fire while law enforcement assisted with evacuating residents from all three floors of the complex. Fire crews conducted a third sweep of the complex to ensure all residents were out.
Residents were offered temporary shelter on a bus provided by Shubat, while other residents found shelter at the nearby Fairview Range. No parties were injured.
Residents were allowed back into their apartments around 3 a.m., with the exception of the extensively-damaged apartment in which the fire occurred and two other apartments which experienced smoke and water damage.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by Hibbing Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The Seventh Avenue Apartments complex is owned by the Hibbing Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA).
Hibbing Fire Department extends its sincere gratitude to the multiple agencies and departments who provided critical support during the event, including Hibbing Police Department, St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, Chisholm Fire, Keewatin Fire, Virginia Fire, Chisholm Ambulance, Virginia Ambulance, Eveleth Ambulance, Nashwauk Ambulance, Buhl Ambulance and Hibbing Public Utilities (HPU). A special thanks to Shubat and the Red Cross.