VALLEY CITY, ND (KFGO NEWS DAKOTA) – An overnight fire at a Valley City apartment complex killed one person, while several were rescued from their balconies Wednesday morning.
Valley City Fire Chief Scott Magnuson said his department was alerted at 12:36 a.m. to several smoke and fire calls from an apartment complex at 215 6th Ave. SW. The complex is identified as Viking Manor.
Magnuson said smoke was coming from every unit in the building when first responders. Several people were awaiting rescue on their balconies, while two had jumped from their balconies to avoid the fire.
“When we arrived, the fire was transitioning into the hallways of the building. Residents found the hallways blocked with heavy smoke, and went to their windows to be rescued,” Magnuson said.
“It was pretty intense for a while,” Magnuson added.
Upon entry, fire personnel found a female victim who was removed from the building. Barnes County Ambulance personnel assumed control of the victim, but the victim died. The victim’s name has not been released.
The North Dakota Fire Marshall and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation have been brought into the investigation. Magnuson said those steps are not due to any suspicion, but add “tools in determining what happened at the scene.”
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