Crime & Safety
IGH Fire Dept. Respond to Explosion, Fire at Fleming Field
A fire broke out and an explosion was reported at an airplane hangar at the South St. Paul airfield on Monday morning.
Update 5:30 p.m. 5/20/13: Inver Grove Heights' Assistant Fire Chief Eric Bergum confirmed that the city's fire crews responded to the incident as part of a mutual aid agreement with other south metro communities.
According to the Star Tribune, the fire started when the owner of a private plane spilled fuel while working on his aircraft.
According to pictures posted on Twitter, parts of a hanger's walls and roof buckled under the fire's blast.
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"(There were) concerns about it rapidly spreading from hangar to hangar," Mark Erickson, Assistant Chief of South Metro Fire Department told KARE 11. "It's open ceilings in this place so once the fire gets up and gets going it can spread rapidly."
Original Post: A fire broke out and an explosion was reported at an airplane hangar at Fleming Field in South St. Paul on Monday morning, according to reports from KARE 11 and the Star Tribune.
Find out what's happening in Inver Grove Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
From the Star Tribune:
The fire occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. at Fleming Field in South St. Paul, which serves general aviation pilots. There is no indication that anyone was hurt, said airport manager Glenn Burke.
From KARE 11:
Details are hard to come by but airport manager Glenn Burke says the building involved is a hangar that houses 10 aircraft.
