Flames and smoke spiraled out of a roof of an apartment building Tuesday night off Oak Street in Brainerd, sending residents out to the curb as they watched firefighters extinguish the fire.
More than 20 Brainerd firefighters, along with three fire trucks, responded to the report of a structure fire just before 8:30 p.m. on the 1100 block of Oak Street.
One of the residents, who lives in the basement unit, Rob Carner said he was on his couch watching TV when he heard someone knock on the door telling him there were flames coming out of the duplex. He looked up and he could see the fire. Carner said the first thing he did was make sure all the people were out of the building. Everyone was out safely and neighbors offered the residents blankets or asked them if there was anything else they could do for them.
"I just hope the fire doesn't get to the bottom floor," Carner said. "I've lived here for four years and before that I was homeless."
Carner said he was worried the residents were not going to be able to stay in the home for the night.
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"Yeah I have family and friends here who I can stay with," he said. "I have everything in there, all my belongings and my daughter's stuff."
Carner didn't know how the fire started, but said it was in the attic and he thinks it could have been an electrical issue.
Neighbors lined up along the street to watch as firefighters worked on extinguishing the flames and conducted overhaul. North Memorial Ambulance and Brainerd Police Department were also on scene.
James Kasper, a neighbor, said he heard the sirens and came out to see what was going on.
Another neighbor, John Kruize, said he was in his garage when he heard the sirens. He said he was happy to hear that everyone got out safely.
"They (the firefighters) were quick and fast to get here," he said.
The flames and smoke cleared from the building quickly as firefighters extinguished the fire. Firefighters were seen coming down the stairs and exiting the house with unknown items. The items were placed in a brown bag and handed over to police.
More details on the fire will be released when they become available.
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JENNIFER STOCKINGER may be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5851. Follow me at www.twitter.com/jennewsgirl on Twitter.
