Officials have released the names of both people who were found dead two weeks ago in an apartment building fire that Minneapolis investigators are treating as potentially suspicious in origin.
Officials identify second person found dead in Minneapolis apartment fire; arson a potential factor
Kerry Sims, 66, was found in the rubble on Aug. 13 in the 22-unit building in the 1500 block of S. 11th Avenue S. near downtown.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 27, 2024 at 12:36AM
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said Monday that the body of Kerry Sims, 66, was found Aug. 13 in the rubble of the 22-unit building in the 1500 block of S. 11th Avenue S. near downtown.
On Friday, the examiner’s office identified the other person found dead in the building as Debbie Leshelle Allen, 59.
Two adults and a teenager suffered burns and were taken to a hospital for treatment, Assistant Fire Chief Melanie Rucker said. Another person was hospitalized for smoke inhalation. Two firefighters were evaluated on the scene for overexertion, but they went back to work, Rucker said.
The assistant chief said on the day after the blaze that her department was treating the fire as having been intentionally set. The Minnesota Star Tribune on Monday asked police and fire officials for an update into the investigation.
Anyone with information about the fire is being urged by police to contact them by email at policetips@minneapolismn.gov or by calling 612-673-5845. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by calling CrimeStoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or at CrimeStoppersMN.org.
The city’s summertime celebration aimed to unite the city and restore its image.
