Hundreds of residents evacuated after fire, utility outage in St. Paul high-rise
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Nearly 800 residents of a St. Paul high-rise are staying in temporary quarters after a weekend fire and utility outage forced the evacuation of the city’s Skyline Tower apartment building.
The fire at Skyline Tower — located along St. Anthony Avenue, on the north side of Interstate 94 — was reported just after midnight Sunday on the 12th floor and quickly extinguished. No one was injured. But seven minutes later a key part of the electrical system failed, which activated the sprinkler system on three floors. That in turn caused a complete power outage.
In a news release Monday, city officials said that 1,500 residents had been relocated. In an email to MPR News on Wednesday, a spokesperson for CommonBond Communities, the affordable housing nonprofit that owns the building, said that the original figure was incorrect and that Skyline Tower “is home to 773 residents in 487 households.”
As of Wednesday, 544 residents are staying in hotels, said Hannah Roy, external communications manager for CommonBond. Others are staying with friends and relatives.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Hodan Mohamud, who lives on the 11th floor with her three-year-old son, said she woke up to a soaked carpet.
“When we opened the door, we saw a lot of water coming in, a lot of flood coming in, and smoke,” she said
The two returned Monday to collect some belongings before heading back to their hotel.
While the fire itself did not cause extensive damage, the lack of potable water and heat along with an alarm system that was knocked out of commission made the building unsafe.
CommonBond worked with first responders, city staff, and Metro Transit on Sunday and Monday to relocate the residents, including 100 people with disabilities who couldn’t use the stairs. The building has a large immigrant population, so language interpreters were part of the response too.
At a Monday news conference, Mayor Melvin Carter said the incident brought out the best in St. Paul.
“We support one another. We take care of one another. And a crisis in this building created a crisis for our whole community.”
It’s uncertain when residents will be able to return. Carter said that electricians are still tracking down replacement parts. And even after the power is back on, Common Bond CEO Deidre Schmidt said around 100 of the building’s 504 units have water damage.
“We just don’t know enough right now to be able to predict how long those individual unit repairs will take,” she said.
City fire safety manager A. J. Neis said Skyline Tower is in compliance with regulations, and passed its most recent inspection in 2023. He said investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire that led to the cascade of trouble.
Affected residents seeking more information can call the city’s Emergency Housing Support Line from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (651) 564-8570.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 29, 2025 with corrected information about the number of people who live in Skyline Tower.
