WADENA — A barn near the England Prairie Pioneer grounds, southeast of Wadena was a total loss following a fire that started just before 3 p.m., Tuesday, March 8.
According to a news release from the Wadena Fire Department, owners of the property were out of the area at the time of the fire and thankfully no animals or people were injured by the fire. The fire occurred at 13913 County Road 1 in Wadena Township, the home of Jim and Joanne Derby.
The Wadena Fire Department was dispatched at 2:49 pm to a report of the barn on fire. Initial information was reported the barn was fully engulfed and Verndale Fire Department was paged for automatic mutual aid. Upon arrival of the first due fire personnel, it was observed a large barn was fully engulfed. Due to the size of the building and location to water access, mutual aid was called for tanker support from Hewitt, Staples, and Deer Creek Fire Departments. Firefighters were on scene until around 7 p.m.
The barn was not being used for animal housing and no animals were affected during this incident. The current usage of the barn was being used for storage at the time of the fire, with minimal contents inside, according to the fire department news release.
The property owners were not home during the time of the incident. The cause of the fire was ruled as undetermined. Due to the intensity of the fire, Moench Excavating was dispatched to assist with clearing debris during the firefight. There was no civilian or firefighter injuries during this incident.
The total loss of property value currently is undetermined.
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Assisting the Wadena Fire Department was the following agencies: Wadena County Sheriff’s Office, Wadena Police Department, Verndale Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, Verndale Fire Department, Hewitt Fire Department, Staples Fire Department, Deer Creek Fire Department, Wadena County Highway Department, Tri-County Health Care Ambulance, Wadena County Drone Team, Moench Excavating and several volunteers that assisted with plowing snow.
