Overview
- Officials say the fire erupted around 1:15 a.m. at the Willoway Apartments in Burnsville and was brought under control after a multi-agency response.
- Alexander O’Neal and his wife, Cynthia, were transported to a local hospital, and another resident was treated and released at the scene.
- A city representative confirmed four apartments were destroyed and deemed unlivable, while other residents were allowed to return.
- Cynthia O’Neal says she saw a “bubble of fire” in the cord to his home oxygen machine and a separate fire on the floor, a detail not yet confirmed by investigators.
- Alexander was discharged later Friday and the couple are staying with family as they recover, following his recent nearly two-week ICU stay for a rare bacterial pneumonia and an enlarged heart.