A major incident unfolded at the University of Minnesota's steam plant in downtown Minneapolis late Friday evening, with a large-scale fire and small explosion erupting at around 11:15 p.m. The blaze sent out a public safety alert, prompting university officials to warn people to steer clear of the area.
Just under an hour later, another update was issued, revealing that while there was no longer a visible flame, the Minneapolis Fire Department remained on scene and traffic control efforts continued. University police were also still active in managing the surrounding roads.
This latest incident comes with the steam plant already having experienced its share of troubles in the past. A roof fire back in 2006 resulted from another blaze at the facility, causing minimal damage.
As a vital source of heat, hot water, and power for the university's Minneapolis campus and some nearby buildings, the steam plant plays a critical role in maintaining operations. Despite the incident being brought under control within an hour, details about the fire are still scarce as of Saturday morning.
Just under an hour later, another update was issued, revealing that while there was no longer a visible flame, the Minneapolis Fire Department remained on scene and traffic control efforts continued. University police were also still active in managing the surrounding roads.
This latest incident comes with the steam plant already having experienced its share of troubles in the past. A roof fire back in 2006 resulted from another blaze at the facility, causing minimal damage.
As a vital source of heat, hot water, and power for the university's Minneapolis campus and some nearby buildings, the steam plant plays a critical role in maintaining operations. Despite the incident being brought under control within an hour, details about the fire are still scarce as of Saturday morning.
I remember back in 2006 when they had that roof fire and it's crazy how something like that can happen again. but you gotta wonder if the university has been doing enough to upgrade their safety measures 
. I mean, a major fire and small explosion? that's not something you see every day. and now they're saying it was under control within an hour? that's kinda reassuring, but also makes me nervous thinking about all the people who had to evacuate the area 
. what really gets me is that the steam plant is so vital to the university's operations. like, what if this incident had happened on a friday afternoon when everyone's trying to head home? it could've been catastrophic 
.
fire at a place where so many people rely on it for basic stuff like heat and water... hope everyone made it out safely 
traffic control is gonna be a nightmare today 
gotta feel bad for the uni staff too, dealing with this on top of already knowing how to handle roof fires from that 2006 incident 
i mean, it's one thing to have a roof fire back in 2006 and not really cause any damage... but an actual large-scale fire with an explosion? that's a whole different story! 
anyway, glad everyone seemed to make it out okay... fingers crossed they get to the bottom of what happened and can fix whatever went wrong 
I'm not saying it's definitely the cause, but can you imagine the benefits? 
. That roof fire back in 2006 was just a minor setback and now this? Not cool, dude 
. And what about all the students and staff who had to evacuate? Did they even have anywhere safe to go for a bit? It's just too much risk on one place... I'm rooting for the firefighters and all, but we need better infrastructure 
. Now they've got all these high-tech systems and still manage to have fires? I don't get it. And what's with the explosion? You'd think that would be a bigger deal... anyway, hope nobody got hurt too bad 
Just saw that there was a huge fire at the University of Minnesota's steam plant last night 
And the worst part is, we don't even know all the details about last night's incident yet 
. And poor steam plant, it sounds like it's already had some issues in the past... hope they can get it sorted out soon 
And it's not like it was their first brush with trouble either, I mean remember back in 2006 when they had a roof fire? Thankfully no one got hurt this time around, but still gotta be super worried about what could've gone down if those flames had spread 
[A photo of a cartoon character trying to put out a fire with a mallet] 
It's crazy that it happened again after they already had a major fire like 19 years ago! 
. I mean, you'd think with all the tech and automation these days, a major fire would be way easier to put out quickly. But it sounds like they still had to deal with some issues controlling the situation.
