Transcripts

RACHEL REABE: Arson is being discussed as a possibility in a fire that destroyed 10 businesses and 16 apartments in downtown Brainerd, this morning. A team from the State Fire Marshal's office is working with local officials to determine the origin of the fire in the two story brick building, located a block South of Brainerd's historic water tower. Deputy state fire Marshal Mark Germain, says arson is a possible cause.

MARK GERMAIN: We still have to do a cause and origin to rule out accidental. We don't want to be focused on arson.

RACHEL REABE: Building owner Dave Peringer says he's convinced that the fire was set.

DAVE PERINGER: My maintenance guy found somebody in the building and chased them out. He didn't catch them, he went back to get the people out. But there was somebody in the building, and it was a locked area.

RACHEL REABE: Two other smaller fires have been reported in the same downtown building in the last several months. City officials say those fires were suspicious in origin. Nobody was injured in the blaze today, which was battled by 60 firefighters from four separate fire departments. Two people were treated for smoke inhalation at the local hospital, then released.

For Brainerd residents, today's scene of roped off streets and the smell of heavy, low hanging smoke, was a vivid reminder of the big fire almost five years ago that destroyed a quarter of a city block in downtown Brainerd. That area, just a block from today's fire, was never rebuilt. It's now a paved parking lot. Ed Menkes' jewelry store is located between the two burned out areas in Brainerd's downtown.

ED MENKES: Five years ago, it was real tough, very, very tough. Many of the businesses were ready to close their doors, some did. But in the past two years, we've seen the downtown come back to life. In the last month, we've had five new businesses locating in the Downtown area.

RACHEL REABE: Downtown Brainerd is no longer the major retailing district in the community. That business has moved to malls and larger discount stores on the edge of town. But the empty storefronts in downtown Brainerd have been mostly filled by a variety of small, service oriented stores. Menkes, president of the Downtown Business Association, says most of the business owners affected by today's fire plan to relocate in other downtown buildings.

ED MENKES: You're going to see a downtown that revitalizes. The businesses downtown are very resilient. They may not be rich, but they're resilient. They come back. They don't quit.

RACHEL REABE: Brainerd business owner, Ed Menkes. I'm Rachel Reabe.