Firefighters battle smoky mess

Four area fire departments from Blooming Prairie, Ellendale, Geneva and Hayfield fought an afternoon fire on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 636 East Main St. in Blooming Prairie.
Fire burned two commercial buildings owned by Davin Johnson of Blooming Prairie. Johnson specializes in roofing and siding.
The buildings, 30 x 70 and 26 x 40, reportedly were used for cold storage. One building was metal and the other, called the old depot, was of wood and metal.
Black smoke billowed into the skies just east of Highway 218 and Main Street. The alarm was sounded at about 2:10 p.m. Nobody was in the building at the time.
Lightning strikes at about 1:15 p.m. were reported in Blooming Prairie during the early afternoon Wednesday. BP Fire Chief Dean Naatz said it is believed a lightning strike caused the fire. He said the buildings were not powered, nor was gas serving the buildings.
Naatz said he was in communication with the State Fire Marshal's office and it was determined that a visit by the Fire Marshall was not needed.
The buildings were a total loss, Naatz said.
Two vehicles, a dump truck and a Ford Ranger, were in the buildings at the time of the fire. Several loud pops were heard as the fire raged on into the afternoon. Johnson said he believed the sounds were the explosion of the vehicle gas tanks.
Naatz praised the work of the firefighters who responded to the call. He said 43 firefighters responded to the fire. "Mutual aid is a wonderful thing," he remarked.
Blooming Prairie dispatched 18 firefighters to the call. Geneva had six firefighters on duty, Ellendale sent 9 firefighters and Hayfield sent 10 to the scene.
Blooming Prairie used its ladder truck to help extinguish the fire. Naatz said the department was called back to the scene at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 13 when some hot spots reappeared.
Chief Naatz said heavy timber part of one of the buildings, caused a slight challenge to the firefighters. He said the wood "really absorbs the water." He said more than 25,000 gallons of water were used to fight the fire.
Nikki Ryks who resides just west of the fire location said she was watching "Gunsmoke" on television when she looked outside and saw a foggy sky. She then realized that fire was raging to the southeast of her residence.
Area departments helped haul water from the city's water supply at the fire hall.