Residents Rescued, Minn. Firefighter Injured at Blaze

When a St. Paul woman woke to a loud pounding noise around 4:30 this morning, she looked out her window and found flames blocking the exit of the second level of her duplex where her daughter lived.

The woman ran outside and started screaming for her daughter, Allison, who lived in the second-story unit in the 1000 block of Marion Street with her boyfriend and children, ages 7 and 4. She also called 911.

"I panicked because I knew I couldn't get upstairs and that was the only exit for my daughter," said Laura, 47, who asked that her last name not be used.

Neighbors heard the woman's screams.

One neighbor grabbed a mattress, so the occupants could escape through a window and jump, Laura said. Several neighbors worked together to catch the children before firefighters arrived.

Firefighters put a ladder against the window to rescue the man and woman, said St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaacard. The woman injured her ankle climbing down the ladder.

Fire paramedics took Laura's daughter to the hospital, Zaccard said. The boyfriend became ill at the scene and was also taken to a hospital.

A firefighter, whose name has not been released, fell off the roof and suffered a minor injury, Zaccard said. He was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

The fire was intentionally set to the back stairs of the duplex, Zaccard said.

Laura said she didn't know who may have started the fire.

"All I know is that it's arson," she said.

It took firefighters 20 minutes to put out the fire, Zaccard said. The fire caused approximately $120,000 in damage.

Laura has lived in the duplex for more than 20 years, she said. She has renter's insurance. Her daughter, who has lived in the second-level unit for two or three years, doesn't.

New fire alarms were recently installed in the residence, but they didn't sound this morning, Laura said.

Laura plans to stay with her parents in Roseville.

American Red Cross volunteers were at the scene this morning.

"We were lucky, huh?" Laura said to her 7-year-old granddaughter. "We have good neighbors."

Copyright 2012 - Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service