St. Paul firefighters battled an arson fire that consumed a large, multi-stall garage early June 1.
At 2:13 a.m. units were dispatched 1067 Van Dyke St. when a resident, who went outside to smoke a cigarette, found flames shooting from a nine-stall garage. Residents of the 17-unit apartment building often used the garage for storage of belongings, not vehicles.
Firefighters arrived to find three of the stalls engulfed in flames and the fire spread to several other spaces before being brought under control. The fire damaged siding on a nearby home.
The fire was intentionally set according to fire department investigators and the St. Paul Police Department is conducting a criminal investigation. A total loss estimated at $100,000 to the garage and $3,500 in damage to the nearby home.
Two engines, one ladder, one rescue squad and a chief were at the scene.