Propane tanks catch fire next to site of new Essentia Health facility in Duluth

Three propane tanks on fire near the site of a new Essentia Health facility in Duluth prompted the closure of surrounding roads on Sunday.

At around 2:20 p.m. crews were called to the area of North 4th Street and East 1st Street after a large amount of black smoke was spotted. The area is the site of Essentia Health’s Vision Northland project.

At the scene, crews found three propane tanks on fire and connected hoses to fire hydrants to begin extinguishing them. The incident was upgraded to a two-alarm fire at around 2:30 p.m.

During the incident, traffic was closed in downtown Duluth on East 1st Street between North 3rd and North 4th Street and East 2nd Street between North 3rd Avenue East and North 4th Avenue East.

By 6 p.m., all three tanks had been extinguished.

No injuries were reported in relation to the fire. The incident remains under investigation. 

Essentia Health Vision Northland is a $900 million project to replace the company's St. Mary's Medical Center in downtown Duluth with 942,000 square-feet of new space.

The facility is expected to open to patients in second half of 2023.