Fire in St. Paul's Snelling Hamline neighborhood sends black smoke aloft

Firefighters said they didn't believe anyone was in the building and didn't have any reports of injuries.

August 22, 2021 at 12:39AM
573511690
A first responder arrives on seen as a structure fire rages at a warehouse at 1400 Dayton Avenue on Saturday in St. Paul. (ANTRANIK TAVITIAN • Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Firefighters worked for hours Saturday night to knock down a large blaze in a storage facility in St. Paul's Snelling Hamline neighborhood.

The fire was reported about 5:45 p.m. in the 1400 block of Dayton Avenue. The facility is "mixed-used" and fire officials said they believed a portion of it contained tires.

At the height of the fire, thick, black smoke could be seen spewing from the building from miles away.

Shortly before 8 p.m., Assistant Chief of Operations Mike Gaede said the fire appeared to be contained, but firefighters expected to work late into the night trying to eliminate hotspots. Gaede said they didn't believe anyone was in the building and didn't have any reports of injuries.

573511690
(ANTRANIK TAVITIAN • Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
573511690
(ANTRANIK TAVITIAN • Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
573511690
A first responder arrives on seen as a structure fire rages at a warehouse at 1400 Dayton Avenue on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in St. Paul. ] ANTRANIK TAVITIAN • anto.tavitian@startribune.comA structure fire rages at an a warehouse at 1400 Dayton Avenue on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in St. Paul. (ANTRANIK TAVITIAN • Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Correction: Previous versions of the story incorrectly identified the neighborhood where the fire was.
about the writers

about the writers

Liz Navratil

Reporter

Liz Navratil covers communities in the western Twin Cities metro area. She previously covered Minneapolis City Hall as leaders responded to the coronavirus pandemic and George Floyd’s murder.

See More

Antranik Tavitian

See More