Two Fires Sunday Afternoon Under Investigation

Originally published at 9:26 a.m. February 26th, 2024

Updated 9:57 a.m. February 26th, 2024

(KNSI) — Two fires Sunday afternoon in St. Cloud are under investigation.

According to a critical incident report, crews were called out to a commercial building fire on the 500 block of 1st Avenue South at about 12:20. They arrived to find a fire in the basement, and the sprinkler system had been activated, containing the flames to the room where it started. The address identifies the building as Garvey Commons, which is the dining hall on the campus of St. Cloud State University. A statement from SCSU emailed to KNSI News confirmed the blaze, saying, “Around noon on Sunday, there was a small fire in the Garvey Commons loading dock, which led to an evacuation of the building. The Fire Department was called, and the building was re-opened to the public prior to Sunday dinner service.”

Another fire was called in just before 3:30 at an apartment on the 1300 block of 6th Avenue South. The report says crews found thick black smoke pouring out of a unit on the main floor. A search of the building showed no one was hurt. Damage was contained to the apartment where the fire started, leaving it uninhabitable. There was heavy damage on the outside of the building, too.

No firefighters were injured.

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