Early Morning Apartment Fire Displaces Several Richfield Residents

The residents of 17 apartment units are without a home Wednesday night after a fire erupted early in the morning.

According to Fire Chief Wayne Kewitsch, Richfield firefighters were dispatched to 638 E. 78th Street at 2:34 a.m. Wednesday for a reported apartment fire. When firefighters arrived, fire was seen extending out of a window in a third floor unit and into the attic.

"Firefighters made an aggressive interior attack and were able to contain the fire to the unit of origin with some extension to the attic space," Kewitsch said in an email to Richfield Patch.

There was heavy damage to two, third floor units and minor water damage to two units on floors one and two. Unfortunately, residents from seventeen of the units have been displaced as a result of the damage.

Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the fire. Richfield Fire received assistance from Bloomington, MAC, Minneapolis, and Edina fire departments, as well as Hennepin EMS and Richfield Police.

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