BROOKINGS – No injuries were reported at a Friday afternoon fire at Larson Manufacturing in Brookings.
Brookings firefighters were called to the scene about 3:30 p.m., for an initial report of a tree on fire. Fire Chief Darrell Hartmann said it was actually a fire inside the building.
Hartmann said a section of the roof was off the building, with a crew in to replace it. It’s suspected that hot material from welding fell into contents at the scene. The fire then spread to an outer wall of the building.
The chief said firefighters did a good job of knocking down the fire quickly, and having a section of the roof off the building helped crews. There was an explosion of an empty water extinguisher inside the building, but none of the shrapnel hit firefighters, and no injuries were reported.
There was damage to a wall, and contents and machinery inside the building, but a damage estimate was not immediately available.
Hartmann thanked Brookings Police for clearing the area that is currently serving as a 22nd Avenue road construction detour, to get fire apparatus to the scene. He also thanked Brookings Ambulance for doing follow-up checks on firefighters.
