Thirteen people injured in explosion and fire at building in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Thirteen people were injured, six critically, early Wednesday morning after an explosion caused a major fire at a grocery store and apartment building in the bustling Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in south Minneapolis. At a morning news conference the Minneapolis Fire Chief said they do not know yet if all the residents are accounted for. Some made it out on their own into the subzero temperatures, but others had to be rescued with ladders. Asked if anyone had been found inside, the Chief said water was still being poured on the building and firefighters have not yet been able to enter. Fire investigators are on the scene, he added. He said there are 10 apartments, nine of them occupied. The fire dept. called the blaze “a deep-seated fire” in dangerous conditions. Fire hoses freeze, and nozzles and hydrants also can freeze up while the water used to quell the blaze quickly turns to ice underfoot in the 4-below zero temperature. Firefighters were spreading salt on the street in front of the building to improve traction. The injured were transported to Hennepin County Medical Center and University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview.