Sunday, July 03, 2011

Fire breaks out in REA, causing up to $1.5 million in damage

Ralph Engelstadt Arena at the University of No...Image via WikipediaWhen I first saw this on Kris Holm's twitter page I thought it was a joke. I will let you know if we get anymore information on the fire.
Brandi Jewett, Grand Forks Herald ---- A fire broke out Sunday in Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, causing significant damage to electronic equipment and arena ice. Smoke damage also occurred throughout the building.

"From a venue perspective, we're assessing the damage and attempting to determine the cause of the fire. Nobody was hurt and the fire was exhausted quickly," said Chris Semrau, director of events and marketing at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Grand Forks Fire Department Bruce Weymier said damage to the sound system and building is estimated to total between $1 million to 1.5 million.

“”This was a significant fire,” he said.

The fire was located in the catwalk area of the building, making putting it out a tricky task.

“”We had to go up stairwell and go through the press box to get to the catwalk,” said Captain Weymier. “We had to stretch a lot of hose.””

About 600 feet of hose was used to reach the fire and 150 gallons of water was used to extinguish it.

Bruce Weymier said the department was dispatched to the call shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
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