1,500 people evacuated from St. Paul high-rise after fire causes ‘complete power outage’

The City of St. Paul announced that 1,500 residents of Skyline Tower were evacuated after an early morning fire on Sunday damaged the building’s electrical system.

Fire crews responded to the building around 12:23 a.m. Sunday, a report of a fire on the 12th floor. The fire was quickly put out and no injuries were reported.

However, crews were called back seven minutes later after the building’s electrical system failed and activated sprinklers on three floors, causing a power outage. Authorities say the power outage disrupted the building’s water and heat, and disabled its fire suppression system, fire alarms and all elevators.

Due to the loss of power and several subsequent systems, the building was deemed uninhabitable. The city says it activated emergency response resources and helped CommonBond with evacuating residents.

Over 100 residents needed special assistance evacuating due to medical conditions, and Metro Transit was called in to help, city officials added.

The residents were all given temporary lodging.

As of Monday morning, the building’s systems remain offline — residents can’t return home until utilities and safety systems are fully restored.

Skyline Tower residents can call the city’s Emergency Housing Support Line at 651-564-8570 or CLICK HERE.
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