Robbinsdale firefighter rescues woman from burning apartment building; A moment neither will forget

Robbinsdale apartment fire rescue

A Robbinsdale woman was rescued by a firefighter Sunday night as flames and smoke filled an apartment building on West Broadway.

RELATED: Multiple departments respond to Robbinsdale apartment fire that left 12 units displaced

The first fire crews on the scene responded to flames coming out of a first-floor window, and a woman was trapped in her third-floor apartment.

“To know you’ve been able to help someone from such a dire situation, it’s just on another level,” said Robbinsdale firefighter Josh Opheim.

Shalyn Quandt was in her third-floor apartment and was trapped by smoke in the hallway, blocking her escape.

“I heard the smoke detectors, I started smelling smoke, I called 911,” Quandt said. “Oh my gosh, I was so frantic.”

Firefighters put up a ladder to the third floor, and Opheim climbed up and helped her down to safety from the burning building.

“About 15 years I’ve been doing this, first rescue from a building, it felt surreal, it’s an absolute honor,” said Opheim.

“It was scary, and they were exactly what I needed in that moment,” Quandt said.

When Quandt was asked by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS what she’d like to say to the firefighter who helped save her, she replied, “Oh my gosh, if I didn’t have a boyfriend, I’d give him a big old smooch.”

She wants to meet the firefighter and bring the rest of the department who also helped her, and the other residents, some cookies as a ‘thank you’ gift.

Crews were able to save Quandt’s cats as well.

A Robbinsdale police spokesperson said the 12 units at the complex were deemed “uninhabitable.”

The Red Cross was called to help the residents who were forced out of their homes.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Fire crews from Robbinsdale, the West Metro Fire-Rescue District, Golden Valley, Osseo and Brooklyn Center responded to the fire, Robbinsdale police added.
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