Fire, Electrical Failure Displace 1500 at Saint Paul’s Skyline Tower

Oct 27

*Skyline Tower in Saint Paul, evacuated after a weekend fire and power failure.* ***FILE PHOTO***

More than 1,500 residents were forced to evacuate from the Skyline Tower apartments in Saint Paul on Sunday.

City officials say an electrical system failure left the 24-story building without power, water or heat.

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Fire crews were first called to the high-rise at 1247 St. Anthony Avenue around 12:23 a.m. on Oct. 26 for a fire on the 12th floor. Firefighters quickly put out the flames without injuries and handed the scene over to building management. Minutes later, they were called back after a 3,000-amp electrical system failed, triggering sprinklers on three floors and cutting power throughout the complex.

The outage knocked out all essential systems including elevators, alarms and the building’s fire suppression network. Without power or running water, the property was deemed unsafe and the city’s Fire Safety Division revoked the certificate of occupancy.

Saint Paul officials and CommonBond Communities immediately activated an emergency evacuation plan. Hundreds of families were displaced, with more than 100 residents requiring medical or mobility assistance. Metro Transit buses were brought in to help transport people to shelters and temporary lodging arranged by the city.

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Deputy Chief Jamie Smith of the Saint Paul Fire Department said crews remained on scene throughout the night assisting residents and coordinating with building management and city departments. “Once the electrical system failed, it created a cascading loss of critical safety systems,” Smith said. “The safest course was to get everyone out.”

City staff from multiple departments, including Emergency Management and Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity, worked alongside CommonBond to locate housing for affected families. Officials said the building will remain closed until electrical, fire, and water systems are fully restored and safety inspections are complete.

Residents displaced by the fire can call the city’s Emergency Housing Support Line at 651-564-8570 for help finding temporary accommodations and accessing multilingual assistance in English, Somali, Amharic, Oromo, Hmong, Vietnamese and Spanish. Translation in additional languages is available upon request.

Skyline Tower is one of the state’s largest affordable housing complexes, owned and operated by CommonBond Communities. Karen Law with CommonBond said the organization is coordinating with the city to assess damage and determine when residents can safely return. “We’re working as quickly as possible to restore services and ensure everyone has a safe place to stay,” Law said.

As of late Monday morning, utility crews and inspectors were still working to stabilize the building’s infrastructure. No timeline has been set for when all residents will be allowed back.

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