Push for more sprinklers continues on one-year anniversary of Minneapolis high rise fire
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Wednesday marked the one year anniversary of the Cedar High Apartment fire that left five people dead in Minneapolis.
Last November a fire broke out on the 14th floor of the Cedar High Apartments located at 630 Cedar Ave. S. Though there was partial fire sprinkler protection in the building, it was limited to the basement area and some common areas on the first floor, a report found.
Report: Fire sprinklers could have saved lives in Minneapolis high-rise fire
Fire sprinkler systems could have saved the lives of five people who died in an early morning fire at a high-rise apartment building in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood last fall, according to a report from state officials.
The State Fire Marshal Division said in the report that all high-rise buildings should be protected with the fire sprinkler systems and that had the Cedar High Apartments been protected with fire sprinklers, “no loss of life would have occurred.”
Representative Mohamud Noor (DFL- District 60B) issued a statement Wednesday and said he plans to re-introduce legislation to require automatic sprinkler systems in all existing high-rise buildings in the upcoming session.
“In the year since, it has been my priority to ensure health and safety for all high-rise buildings," he wrote. "The recently released report by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Fire Marshal Division (SFMD) highlights that need: ‘It is the SFMD’s position that all high-rise buildings should be protected with fire sprinkler systems. Had this building been protected with fire sprinklers, it is the opinion of the SFMD that no loss of life would have occurred.’”