Crookston, MN – Fire gutted the Crookston (MN) Bean Company early July 15. An overnight worker at Dahlgren’s Warehouse called firefighters to the scene just after 5 a.m. Capt. Bob Magsam says flames were coming out of the upper level on the west side of the old wooden elevator. Several nearby houses were hosed down as a precaution. Witnesses say crews appeared to have the blaze under control by 6:30 a.m. despite having to battle strong winds.
“We did a good job of knocking down a lot of visible flame,” Magsam says.
“The top of the elevator was engulfed in huge flames,” says Ray Ecklund, a cook at a nearby restaurant who reported to work at about 5:30 a.m. “It looked like a big torch. You could feel the heat in the parking lot.”
Flames flared up on the north side just after 8 a.m. above the main office. Owner Loretta Seaver and firefighters scrambled to remove file cabinets and records from the office while two crewmen used an extension ladder to hose down the hot spots.
Seaver says she and her late husband, Bob, purchased the building about 30 years ago. She says no driers were left running overnight.
“We store peas for trucked in from western North Dakota and used in pet food and bird food,” Seaver says. “Some are shipped overseas.”
Seaver’s son and co-owner, Derick, says the grain loss could have been worse.
“Not all that many loads were in there,” Derick Seaver says. “It would have been full next week. Luckily nobody was hurt. They got the flames knocked down fairly quick, dumping a hell of a lot of water on it.”
Source: Grand Forks Herald
