MEDINA, N.D. (AP) — Officials of a livestock feed company whose operations at a grain elevator in Medina were severely damaged in a fire last weekend say business will proceed as normal from another location as they work to rebuild.
Diamond W Feeds General Manager Kenny Hoffer told The Bismarck Tribune (https://bit.ly/2eqywAs ) that as much as 60,000 bushels of corn and some feed products were destroyed in the Sunday night blaze. He didn't know the value of the loss.
However, not all was lost. Two 60,000-bushel bins with a small amount of corn inside them are still intact and will be tested to see if they were damaged by the heat from the fire.
Prior to the fire there were plans to begin filling bins at the elevator with corn, but now newly harvested corn will be stored at another location.
Hoffer said the building's heat detection system went off around 7 p.m. Sunday.
Medina Fire Chief Brian Rau said firefighters believe the blaze started in the building's basement or on the first floor. The building had been compromised by the time firefighters entered, so they concentrated on protecting nearby homes and other structures.
Rau said an investigation into the fire is ongoing.
Diamond W Feeds ships bulk livestock feed throughout North Dakota and neighboring states. It has had operations at the Medina elevator since 2003.
___
Information from: Bismarck Tribune, https://bismarcktribune.com/