Photo courtesy the St. Cloud Times
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St. Cloud Times
FREEPORT, Minn. -- Investigators were not able to determine what caused the fire last month that destroyed the Swany White Flour Mill, a Central Minnesota landmark.
The Dec. 27 fire caused $850,000 in damage, according to the State Fire Marshal's report released today.
Gary Thelen owned the mill that has been in his family since 1903. It produced 750,000 pounds of flour a year, products that were sought after by co-ops, bakers and cooks who espouse the local food movement.
In the report, Deputy State Fire Marshal John Steinbach said the business owner and employee discovered smoke and flames in the floor mill and called 911.
Firefighters attacked the fire from outside the structure. The mill later collapsed and excavation equipment was used to demolish the remaining structure so crews could make sure the fire was out.
Steinbach said in his report that he was unable to perform a thorough investigation of what caused the fire because of that demolition. He was unable to determine where the fire started and what caused it.
According to the report, the fire was first reported by a passer-by at 4:37 p.m. When firefighters arrived, flames where shooting from the cupola and firefighters could see an orange glow inside the third-story windows.
The three-story, wood-framed building building burned from the top down.
The exterior of the wood-framed structure was metal clad and the interior walls and ceilings were open wood frame construction and sheeted with combustible wall coverings.
The report indicates that the building's age and the dust from the mill created fire hazards.
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