Breaking - Building explodes in downtown Minneapolis

[IDemo]

Source: NBC News

As many as a dozen people have been injured in a building explosion in Minneapolis, NBC affiliate KARE reported.

First responders are on the scene of 514 Cedar Avenue South, near Interstate 94 in in the city's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

KARE is reporting that injuries include burns and trauma suffered by people falling or jumping from windows.

Unconfirmed reports say the second and third floors of the structure have collapsed, KARE reported.

Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/01/22133009-building-explodes-in-downtown-minneapolis?lite

[bigworld]

1. It appears to be a small ethnic grocery store

http://goo.gl/maps/InTEk

[PatrynXX]

26. thinking Jewish Arabic thing here

alot of West Bank stores or places to eat

[Retrograde]

29. In Minneapolis? (n/t)

[bemildred]

2. Gas leak? nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Not actually "downtown" - but it's a busy, very dense area.

[BlueStreak]

4. How long before CNN askes if this was terrorism? 5-4-3-2-1

[Iliyah]

5. 1st - prayers and hoping no one was critically injured and all will survive

2nd - yes, fake news and cnn will be on top of it and they will blame Pres O.

3rd - here comes Issa!!!!!!!!!

Benghazi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Brickbat]

6. The building houses a grocery store, a mosque and apartments.

http://www.startribune.com/local/238355281.html

[glinda]

17. Terrible.

Looked like the building had been kept up more than years ago. How awful......

[randome]

7. MineralMan, what are you up to?

Were you playing 'round with that drone you found in your back yard?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]No squirrels were harmed in the making of this post. Yet.[/center][/font][hr]

[hrmjustin]

8. My prayers to the victims.

[GeorgeGist]

9. Video link

Warning: slow to load for me, be patient.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2777746661001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAACC6OgzE~,L0bTvfk9n15apfz42dFe8hciOQfJ87c4&bclid=0&bctid=2998361690001

[postulater]

10. -4 degrees F in Minneapolis right now. Those guys up on the ladders

will want some hot coffee when they come down.

[RiverNoord]

25. -4 isn't much to worry about in Minneapolis

With all their heavy clothing and protective gear, they'll barely notice it.

[hlthe2b]

11. Oh, gawd... How horrible. Gas explosion?

[IDemo]

12. Very likely

I witnessed one of these in a larger building decades ago. There was pink insulation drifting by the office window nearly a mile away from the blast.

[truthisfreedom]

22. Oh, I can feel for these people.

Speedy recoveries to all!

I went through 3 apartment fires and once a near explosion when my landlord did some some non-permit work on a burned-out apt and broke a gas line inside the wall. By the time I discovered the source of the gas smell two floors up, coming from a nail hole in a bedroom wall, the whole building's inner and outer walls were at an explosive concentration. Luckily the gas company got there within 3 minutes of my discovery and walked us all out without incident, shutting off the gas main and clearing out the gas for several hours. They told us a single push of a door buzzer or flipped light switch could have blown us all to bits.

[sarisataka]

13. Update @ 10:27

13 injured, 6 are critical.

Local temp is -4, making it treacherous for the firemen

[closeupready]

14. How sad - I hope everyone is able to recover,

and that no one else is injured.

[NastyRiffraff]

15. Hoping for the safety of everyone

Including the first responders. No idea of the cause but CNN will definitely be speculating.

[2naSalit]

16. Yikes

What a horrible way to start the new year! I hope that all will recover.

[diabeticman]

18. Would it be rude of me to pray it was a Gas Leak? Would love to see CNN and FAUX have mud

in there face. BUT then somehow a gas leak is terroristic....



Hope no one dies. Hope those injured recover quickly

[valerief]

19. A gas leak would be anti-fracking, and that's as unAmerican as being against the GWOT. nt

[truthisfreedom]

23. I don't think there's fracking near mpls.

[MinneapolisMatt]

20. How terrible.

It's bitterly cold here, too.

[Jackpine Radical]

21. …a mosque, a halal market…

Does that set off a really queasy feeling for anyone else?

It may BE terrorism. The right wing has been drumming up hatred for Muslims for half a generation now.

[RiverNoord]

24. That was my first thought

After my... well, other first thought of 'I've been by that spot hundreds of times.' I don't know, though - Minneapolis has loads of Halal markets - the big one being 'Holy Land,' which is frequented by many, many people of various ethnic backgrounds. Love their hummus. As for mosques, I lived in NE Minneapolis for several years, and there are Hindu and Buddhist temples and mosques in significant numbers - it's simply part of the area. The explosion happened in south Minneapolis, but I'd be surprised if it was a bombing.

[jwirr]

31. I hope you are right. Also it can be something as simple as an old heating system overheating and

going up in flames. A lot of our cold weather fires are caused that way.

Prayers for the injured. May they recover as soon as possible.

[Jackpine Radical]

34. I have connections to one of the Tibetan Buddhist groups myself.

I went through 3 weekends of meditation training & practice at Tergar, founded around Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche.

[BlueStreak]

27. Shouldn't we leave the irresponsible, baseless speculation to the experts

at Faux and CNN?

[sybylla]

28. Yeah, it does, Jackpine.

How shameful and sad if it turns out to be a hate crime.

[civillawyer]

33. Yep.

Anyone in this forum up in that area?

[seveneyes]

30. First thoughts

I can see two nefarious thoughts by some people, one it was a hate bombing, two it was a homemade device that detonated prematurely. Then there is always the non conspiracy accidental gas explosion.

[NickB79]

39. The RW will say the building was a front for Islamic terrorists

And the explosion was a failed suicide vest or something that the Somali's were building to attack the US.

I'm 100% positive that thought has gone through quite a few RW minds in the past day.

[uppityperson]

32. At Least 14 Injured In Fire At Cedar Ave. Apartment

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/01/01/crews-battling-large-apartment-fire-in-minneapolis/

A billowing fire engulfed a three-story building near downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, sending 14 people to hospitals with injuries ranging from burns to trauma associated with falls.

A number of the injuries were reportedly critical. Some of the victims went to the University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview, but most were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center.

Families on the scene said at least three people were still unaccounted for, according to WCCO-TV’s Kate Raddatz.

Fire crews responded to the blaze shortly after 8 a.m. at 514 Cedar Avenue South in Minneapolis. A witness at the scene who saw it all unfold told WCCO-TV he saw the entire building explode and at least three people jump out of windows to escape the fire at the three-story building....

http://www.startribune.com/local/238359121.html

......Store owner reported ‘electrical shock’

Ahmed Muse, one of five owners of the grocery store, said he arrived at the store at 8 a.m. There was what he called “an electrical shock” in the building, and police were called. When he went outside to talk to the officers, an explosion erupted on the second floor, blowing out the windows and scattering glass on the street below. A police squad car reported the fire at around 8:16 a.m., Nelson said

Flames were shooting 20 feet from the building, officials said. The second and third floors of the three-story building later collapsed.

[davidpdx]

35. Seems like either an electrical fire or gas explosion

I think it's pretty safe to rule out terrorism.

[LuckyLib]

37. This is a building built in 1886. In an older part of town that has been home for decades

to different ethnic groups, now primarily Somali and other East African folks. First thought was a slum-lord who has not kept things up, faulty wiring, gas leak from trying to heat with a gas stove.

Thoughts go out to the families.

[davidpdx]

38. I wish the families well too

A building that old probably should have been condemned unless it could be brought up to code. It was 127 years old. Even the best buildings aren't built to last forever.

[WhoWoodaKnew]

36. I hate to see stuff like this anytime but for some reason on holidays,

or a day like New Years day, it bothers me a hair more. I can't stand to think that families might lose loved ones on those days (although I admit it's not very logical).

[progree]

40. Body found in the wreckage

Body found in the wreckage of Minneapolis building fire,
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_24835039/body-found-wreckage-minneapolis-building-fire?source=rss

A body has been pulled from the wreckage of a Minneapolis building consumed by fire. Officials have not identified the body.

... Based on the nature of the explosion in the building and reports of a gas odor, investigators suspect natural gas was behind the fire, Fruetel said. He said there's still a long way to go to figure out how or where it started. It seemed to come from the second or third floor, he said, but cautioned that the full picture might never come together given the extent of the damage.

============

CBS Minnesota - During the press conference, Minneapolis Fire Chief John Fruetel said that a number of witnesses reported a smell. He said the debris field from the blast also points to a gas explosion.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/01/02/investigators-search-for-cause-of-massive-minneapolis-fire/

============

There are still two or three people missing (the first article above goes into that, one can't be sure exactly...)

Oh, they are in the process of tearing down the building....

A good way to follow this from several news sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/local/Minneapolis-12781882.html

There was some questions higher up in the thread about the ethnicity of those living in the building -- almost all or all are Somali-origin and perhaps some other East African (though I haven't read or heard of any mention of the latter in this particular building / tragedy but I do know some live in this neighborhood ). That's what I glean from reading several articles, looking at videos and pictures showing several victims, and well, knowing the area.

By the way, the photo of the building (pre-fire) in reply #1 (thanks bigworld) is excellent (see below for the link) -- the big dark red building in the center. The white one next to it is the one housing the mosque -- likely that building will survive. And since it is a Google map you can rotate, zoom, move on down the street, whatever.

http://goo.gl/maps/InTEk

[progree]

41. Mosque in next door building is water-damaged. Also, one who jumped tells his story

Dar Al-Hijrah mosque, 'spiritual center' of Cedar-Riverside, closes after fire next door
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/01/02/news/cedar-riverside-mosque-closed
The mosque closed because of water damage from putting out of the fire next door, and the basement is flooded with water at about knee-high levels, Adam said. The building is not a total loss, he said. Leaders are still investigating the extent of the damage.

===============================================================

Man Recalls Breaking Window, Jumping Out To Escape Apt. Fire (from the 3rd floor to the icy sidewalk below), CBS Minnesota, ~11p 1/2/14
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/01/02/man-recalls-breaking-window-jumping-out-to-escape-apt-fire/
School bus driver Abdirashid Nur ... He lay where he fell for 20 minutes (he was wearing only his underware, below zero temperatures) ... he's out of the hospital now. Didn't say anything about any broken bones or any other injuries

[progree]

43. 2nd body found

Cedar Avenue fire latest updates, 1009a 1/3/14
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/24355418/cedar-avenue-fire-latest-updates

Body still hasn't been identified.

Families members identified the two men unaccounted for as Ahmed Ali and Mrimri Farah – roommates in Apartment No. 6. Farah was last known to be inside his Cedar Avenue apartment before the explosion and fire.

The Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota launched a disaster relief fund Thursday for victims and families. ( http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/24346593/disaster-fund-for-cedar-riverside-apartment-fire-victims )

Donate online at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/csc-mn and visit http://www.csc-mn.org for more information or contact the Confederation at [phone].

The Cedar Cultural Center is also working with Augsburg College to host a benefit concert for the fire victims that will take place on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.

===============================================================

2nd body found around 10 am Friday. Neither of the bodies has been identified, MPR News, 1/3 ~11a
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/01/03/news/cedar-riverside-fire-body

[progree]

44. death toll now 3, at least 3 still in critical condition

Third Person Dies In Mpls. Apartment Explosion, January 4, 2014 4:16 PM
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/01/04/third-person-dies-in-minn-apartment-explosion/
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office said Saturday that 29-year-old Abdiqani Adan died at the Hennepin County Medical Center on Friday afternoon. He did not live in the building.

Fire officials said Friday they believe they have accounted for all victims of Wednesday’s explosion and fire, after recovering the bodies of two people from the building’s charred ruins. The first victim was identified Friday as Ahmed Farah Ali, a 57-year-old resident of one of the apartments. His body was recovered from the site Thursday. A second body was recovered Friday but has not yet been identified. (( Another news source says family and friends have identified the second body as Ali's roomate, Mrimri Farah ))

===============================================================

In case anyone was wondering, Palmer's Bar (which is next to the mosque, which in turn is next to the now demolished grocery/apartments building) maintained its heating but lost its electricity until around 2 pm January 4, and opened for business a couple hours later.

===============================================================

A Long Road Ahead For Victims Of Apt. Fire, January 3, 2014 8:34 PM
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/01/03/a-long-road-ahead-for-victims-of-apt-fire/

Dr. Ryan Fey at Hennepin County Medical Center says they have three patients still in critical condition.

“Burn injuries are among the most painful injuries that one can suffer from. So pain management is a significant part of what we do,” Fey said. ... part of the problem is that healing takes a lot of time, and there are often many complications.
“Nothing fast happens with major burn injuries, and they have a lot of ups and downs, and rarely do large burns recover without encountering some problems along the way,” he said.

((Some others were taken to other hospitals, I don't know their condition))

===============================================================

A local TV news report at 530 pm said the cause of the explosion is still unknown.