Investigation Continues Into Three-Alarm Fire That destroys Antique Filled Building

Cause of fire is still pending investigation

FARGO, N.D. — The building at 1420 First Avenue North is destroyed due to the three alarm fire Saturday, but last evening the scene looked much different.

“Were going to be on scene here for quite a while. There is a lot of content, a lot of stuff inside the building right now and that is kind of proven to be a little difficult in trying to get this out,” Fargo Fire Marshall, Ryan Erickson said.

Once on scene, Fargo firefighters saw the extent of the fire and called in for extra help as they tried to contain the flames.

“We did strike a third alarm which brought all of our next oncoming shift on and then also a unit from Moorhead and West Fargo fire,” Erickson said.

Neighbors in the area describe the intensity of the situation as it unfolded before them.

“Streets were backed up to where people had to go on the road I lived on. We had family members walking with their kids all walking over by the center over there and it was all getting evacuated. The smoke was high, it was pretty high up. You could see flames on top of the roof,” Neighbor Jacob Bauer said.

Firefighters battled the flames for about three hours when they finally brought it under control around 8:30 pm on Saturday,

The building where the fire occurred is filled with antiques and in recent years, dozens of statues of various sizes have surrounded the building.

The owner of the property, Gary Reinhart, has declined to comment on the current situation.

The extent and value of the damage is unknown at this time.

The Fargo fire department has yet to release any information on the cause of Friday’s fire.