Photo by David Heinecke

A Facebook page has been established for “Donations for the victims of the Easter fire Duluth MN.”

Duluth Fire Department incident report:

At 12:50 p.m. on Sunday April 5, the Duluth Fire Department responded to an apartment complex fire at the Applewood Knoll apartments at 1705 E. Second St.

The assistant chief reported heavy smoke, seen from Sixth Avenue West and Second Street. The first arriving company found fire on the exterior of the building on three floors. Heavy fire was also seen on the rear of the building. Due to the amount of fire and the size of the complex, a second alarm was called for this fire.

Crews stretched handlines to the front and rear of the building. The fire had extended to the cockloft and the lightweight construction of the roof led to a withdrawl of interior firefighting crews. The IC switched to a defensive position to try and stop the fire on the east side of the complex. The fire eventually overcame the fire stop and the west half of the complex became fully involved. The building is being reported as a total loss. A small crew will remain on scene for most of the night.

Thirty-three firefighters responded to this fire with an additional 14 firefighters being called back on duty.

The Duluth Fire Marshal’s office is investigating this fire. Damage is estimated to be in excess of $900,000.