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Cause still under investigation

 

The Rohler Rink in Brownsdale is considered a total loss after the building was consumed by fire Saturday night.

According to Brownsdale Volunteer Fire Chief David Pike, the Brownsdale Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire call at about 10:48 p.m. on Saturday at the Rohler Rink at 316 Market St. SE after several passing motorists reported seeing flames coming from the roof of the structure. While enroute, the Austin Fire Department was called in for manpower assistance and the aerial apparatus. The Adams, Dexter and Rose Creek Fire Departments were later called for additional water resources.

Upon arrival, firefighters observed that the southernmost portion of the building was fully involved.

The fire was extinguished at about 4 a.m. on Sunday; salvage and overhaul operations continued into Sunday morning.

One Brownsdale firefighter was treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation. A second Brownsdale firefighter was transported to Mayo Clinic Hospital, St. Marys Campus-Rochester for a non-life threatening injury sustained from a fall while conducting water shuttling operations. He was released shortly thereafter.

Pike said the building and the contents within are a total loss, though the overall dollar value of what was lost is not known at this time. The cause of the fire is still unknown at this time and remains under investigation by the Brownsdale Fire Department, Mower County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office.