60 firefighters battled 3 a.m. blaze at St. Paul apartment building

More than 60 firefighters spent several hours early Wednesday morning battling a large fire that severely damaged a building housing a video store and apartments on University Avenue in St. Paul.

Flames were shooting out of the roof and window of the two-story brick structure on the 900 block of University Avenue near Milton Street when crews arrived just before 3 a.m.

One person inside the building escaped unharmed by climbing out a second-story window onto a roof. A neighbor helped get the person down to the ground with a ladder, said St. Paul Fire Department spokesman Roy Mokosso.

Firefighters entered the building but were forced to retreat as conditions changed, Mokosso said. One firefighter in the basement had trouble getting out and issued a mayday distress call. Two others were unable to be reached by radio as the inferno raged, he said.

The three firefighters were able to get to safety on their own, Mokosso said.

Crews finished fighting the fire from outside the building. He said more than 60 firefighters were on the scene.

Officials with the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections arrived on the scene and determined that the building needed to be demolished.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Green Line light-rail trains passing by the scene continued to operate throughout the morning but moved at restricted speeds, Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr said.