1 man dies in St. Paul market fire
Updated: 10:12 a.m. | Posted: 6:50 a.m.
Authorities are trying to determine what caused a fire that killed one man in a St. Paul neighborhood market early Thursday morning.
Firefighters found the man in the basement of Stasny's Food Market in St. Paul's North End. Battling the blaze in the century-old building was a challenge, Fire Chief Tim Butler said.
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"Very confusing interior arrangement. It made the rescue of the person in the basement and the fire fighting a little bit more difficult," he said. "The other thing that made it difficult was the first floor collapsed into the basement in a number of areas and now of course the roof is collapsed as well."
The man's identity hasn't been released. Authorities say he may have either been working or living in the basement when the fire broke out.
A family of four lived in the second floor apartment. They all got out safely, including Tim Schmugge. He said he saw the smoke around 1:30 a.m. and asked his fiancée to look around.
"I ran downstairs as she was investigating the house," he said. "I looked in the store and saw smoke building up in the store, so I went back in and said 'everybody get out of the house now, get some clothes now and get out."
No other injuries were reported. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. The building appears to be a total loss.