Storage barn fire northwest of Park Rapids destroys race car, tools
Paul Solberg stared at the charred remains of his race car and struggled to keep his composure.By: Sarah Smith, Park Rapids Enterprise
- Storage fire
Paul Solberg stared at the charred remains of his race car and struggled to keep his composure.
“This was $10,000,” he said of the burned out hulk he used to drag race in. “Over there,” he said, pointing to a smoldering pile, “that was my new engine block.”
He ticked off an inventory of tools and shook his head.
‘I lost $20,000 today,” he said quietly.
An early morning fire Thursday northwest of Park Rapids caused “substantial damage” to a storage barn and small manufacturing shop, said Park Rapids Fire Chief Donn Hoffman.
“I almost called in mutual aid” to quell the blaze that was called in shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday.
The building is owned by Paul Kern, Solberg’s friend and co-worker.
The state fire marshal arrived on the scene shortly after 8 a.m. to try to determine the cause of the blaze.
Hoffman called in 20 firefighters to respond, beside himself.
“It was a substantial loss,” Hoffman said of the building off 129th Avenue.
For Solberg it was a wrenching scene.
“My insurance policy was supposed to go into effect Jan. 1,” he said.
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The Park Rapids Enterprise and the Echo Press are both owned by Forum Communications Company.
Tags: daily updates, regional news, park rapids, news, fire
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