Barbershop, apartments deemed 'uninhabitable' following fire

A building in south Minneapolis that was home to residential units and a barber shop has been deemed uninhabitable after a fire Friday afternoon.

According to the Minneapolis Fire Department, crews responded to a fire at a two-story building at 3749 Bloomington Ave S. at around 12:30 p.m. The Southside Barber Lounge is located on the first floor of the building, while residential units make up the second floor.

Both the barbershop and the residential units were deemed a total loss in the blaze. Southside Barber Lounge announced on its Facebook page that its Bloomington shop – which is its flagship location – was "completely ruined."

"We had a lot of memories here and our hearts are definitely heavy," the owners said.

Help has arrived in the form of the MN NAF! Salon next door, where Southside Barber Lounge will be setting up temporary shop starting this Tuesday.

It says its replacement location will be announced soon. 

The Minneapolis Fire Department says its crews found "heavy smoke" on the first floor of the building, with the blaze having spread to the second floor and roof.

Nobody was injured, but two cats had to be rescued and returned to their own. They were also unharmed.

It's not clear what caused the fire.