Building that caught fire in Wadena is expected to be rebuilt

It was a difficult Memorial Day for people in Wadena as the city dealt with a large fire at a storage building and a tornado warning

WADENA, Minn. (KVRR) – It was a difficult Memorial Day for people in Wadena as the city dealt with a large fire at a storage building and a tornado warning.

There were concerns about toxic chemicals burning inside a building behind Minnesota Valley Irrigation, but nothing harmful ended up on fire.

Firefighters were made to leave the scene for 30 minutes due to the tornado warning.

They returned to the scene to monitor the situation and extinguish remaining hot spots.

Fire personnel were on scene until around 8:00 pm.

It took fire crews five hours to put the blaze out.

Investigations into the start of the fire are ongoing.

“With the traffic coming into town and of course people were driving around to look because they heard the fire sirens go off and the smoke was black because of what was burning, that created a pretty black smoke, and then there was concern once you know the shelter and place order was issued,” Mayor George Deiss said.

The building was deemed a total loss and the mayor tells us business owners expect the building to be rebuilt.