The Duluth Fire department responded to a report of a structure fire at 611 E. Sixth St. Upon arrival there was light smoke coming from a window on the second floor of a two story duplex.
On scene police officers advised us that all occupants were out of the building. By the time firefighters laid lines up the stairs, the fire became very intense and, once vented, had flames roaring throughout the apartment and out of the windows at the front of the structure.
The fire was attacked from the interior of the building and was extinguished within 5 minutes of arrival. Fire overhaul took another 30 minutes to complete. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters. Damage estimates for the duplex are $70,000 for the structure and $30,000 for the contents.
The cause of the fire has been determined as child fire-play. A 6-year-old was playing with a lighter while his mother was sleeping. She awoke to find flames and quickly evacuated her three children to the outside. Lower apartment occupant Tim Spriggs attempted to use fire extinguishers to put out the fire but was unsuccessful. He also tried to drag the burning mattress out of the apartment but the smoke was too thick so he left the building before he became overcome by it.
The fire heavily burned two rooms of the second floor apartment and caused heavy heat damage throughout the rest of the apartment. The heavy smoke and heat destroyed all contents of the apartment. The fire also broke through into the attic and started insulation on fire. Water and light smoke caused minor damage in the first floor apartment forcing these residents out of their home also. All building occupants are being placed at local hotels by the American Red Cross.
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This is the 10th significant structure fire in the last 31 days.
--Duluth Fire Department press release
