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Jon Collins
Madelia, Minn.

Explosion sparked fire on Madelia's Main Street

Spraying down fire remains
Firefighters spray water on the remains of a downtown Madelia, Minn., building destroyed by a fire early Wednesday morning. The fire took out about two-thirds of the businesses on one side of Main Street, according to City Administrator Jane Piepgras. No injuries were reported.
Pat Christman | The Free Press via AP

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Updated: 11:25 a.m. | Posted: 7:43 a.m.

An explosion in a business in Madelia, Minn., sparked a fire that burned many of the buildings on the city's Main Street on Wednesday morning.

No injuries were reported.

Mayor Mike Grote said about six or seven businesses were affected by the fire, which started at about 2:30 a.m. He said some buildings on the southern Minnesota city's Main Street had burned to the ground. The fire was largely out by 8 a.m.

"The flames are more of a smolder now because the buildings are pretty much into the ground, but they have to put the water on to get the hot spots out of what's left burning," Grote said.

Karla Angus, executive director of the Madelia Chamber of Commerce, said the fire completely destroyed six buildings on the north side of the street. The fire appears to have originated in a floral shop, and spread to buildings including an insurance office, Mexican restaurant and a hair salon.

"We're a small town, we all wear a lot of hats," Angus said. "One of the business owners is a firefighter, so he's been out fighting his own fire [at] his business."

Angus said the fire has brought the community together, and that there have already been offers of monetary or food support for those who've lost businesses.

Firefighters demolish a building after a fire.
T.J. Jessen watches as firefighters demolish a building in downtown Madelia, Minn., after an early morning fire.
Pat Christman | The Free Press via AP

Grote said six or seven nearby departments responded to the fire, although heavy snowfall in the area led to the closure of some nearby roads and made travel difficult.

About 10 inches of snow was reported near Madelia as of Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service.

"Thank the Lord that we haven't had any injuries, and that we have a crew of dedicated firefighters and rescue people on scene to make this catastrophe as painless as possible," Grote said.

Madelia is located in Watonwan County, about 25 miles southwest of Mankato. The city's population was just over 2,300 during the last Census.