Fire destroys warehouse in Albert Lea, 19 residents displaced due to smoke
Credit: Cody Schaefer
A fire at a warehouse building in Albert Lea forced people from more than a dozen homes to be evacuated due to smoke.
The fire at 601 Main St. W. was reported at 8:11 p.m. Thursday after an Albert Lea police officer on patrol spotted the blaze, the police department said.
Fire departments from around the area responded to control the fire, which fully engulfed the building and sent heavy smoke throughout the city, the Albert Lea Tribune reports.
People who live nearby were evacuated due to all the smoke, with the police department saying 19 people from about 13 homes were displaced and being helped at a shelter that was set up at United Methodist Church.
Albert Lea Public Safety Director J.D. Carlson told the Albert Lea Tribune that no injuries were reported.
The flames from the fire were so hot they melted the siding on homes across the street, according to reports.
The warehouse, which a city official told KIMT was abandoned and may have been in foreclosure, was completely destroyed.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, but fire crews said there were squatters in the building when they arrived, ABC 6 reports. The State Fire Marshal's Office will reportedly be on the scene on Friday.
Bring Me The News has reached out to Albert Lea officials for more information.
