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Gilbert Lodge   Since 2004

                 Gilbert Lodge Blog
         The life and times of Mark and Paula Persons

March 22, 2010, 3 PM:  While driving on a business trip in Bemidji, MN, I (Mark) was passed by two fire trucks.  After turning onto another street, I was passed by more fire trucks and emergency vehicles.  It soon became evident that the "big event" was somewhere along my route of travel.  Sure enough, there was a fire in a 63-unit apartment complex on the north side of Bemidji.  

The fire didn't look too bad when I first arrived, but it didn't take long and the fire really got going.  I am told that attic fires are difficult to control and put out.  Making it more difficult were winds from the southwest peaking at over 20 miles per hour.

It took a while, but the Bemidji Fire Department got an aerial hose on the fire.

Firemen crawled up on the top of the three-story structure and cut holes in the roof with a chainsaw to spray water inside the building.

In the end, about a third of the complex was probably a total loss.  Firewalls helped protect the two ends of the building.  Early news reports indicated that the $2.2 Million structure suffered about $1 Million in damage and displaced everyone who had been living there.  This was the biggest fire in Bemidji since 1958 and was battled by 43 fire fighters.

Quote of the day:  It was all over in less than an hour...what a sight!  Mark