A major emergency response effort is underway in St. Paul after a small fire led to a total power outage at the 504-unit Skyline Tower near the Midway Target.

The incident early Sunday displaced 1,500 residents, who've all since been evacuated and placed in hotels or other temporary housing.

“This was and continues to be a major operation,” St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said during a press conference Monday afternoon.

The City of St. Paul said firefighters responded to a fire on the 12th floor of the Skyline Tower around 12:23 a.m. Sunday and quickly extinguished the blaze, which caused no injuries.

The fire, however, had damaged the building's electrical system and the sprinklers activated on three floors, causing a total power outage, just minutes after firefighters left the scene.

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