Lawmakers push for sprinklers in all high-rise apartment buildings after deadly Minneapolis fire
The fire started in an apartment on the 14th floor of a high-rise apartment building in Cedar-Riverside and it spread to the hallway. (FOX 9)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Some Minnesota lawmakers are pushing for all high-rise buildings to have sprinklers following a deadly fire at a high-rise apartment building in Minneapolis late last year.
On Nov. 27, a fire broke out on the 14th floor of the Cedar High Apartments in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, killing five people. The building was an older one that did not have sprinklers.
5 dead, 4 hospitalized after fire at high-rise apartment building in Cedar-Riverside neighborhood
Five people died and four others were injured, including a firefighter, after a fire broke out on one of the upper floors of a high-rise apartment building in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis early Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday, a group of DFL lawmakers announced a new bill that would make sprinklers mandatory in high-rise apartment buildings and have older high-rises retrofitted with them. The proposed bill would require all buildings 75 feet or higher to have sprinklers installed by August 1, 2032.
“This is a time that we have to stand up for our families to live in a safe and secure space and to be able to assure everyone that you are going to have a place in Minnesota—a home that you will feel safe,” state Rep. Mohamud Noor, whose district includes the Cedar High Apartments, said.
On a federal level, members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation are calling for a nationwide audit of public housing complexes to see which ones need to have sprinklers added.