The fire caused thousands of dollars' worth of damage and the building was destroyed, authorities said.
The building's owner, Marvin Fried, said he noticed flames a few minutes after plugging in the diesel tractor's heaters.
Fried said he tried to drive the tractor out of the building but had to abandon the machine after the rear window exploded and the cab filled with smoke.
``The smoke kind of took over, so you had to get out,'' said Fried, who suffered minor burns. ``There was nothing you could do.''
The fire made it too dangerous to send firefighters inside the building, so crews had to battle the flames from outside, Bismarck Rural Fire Chief Rod Hochhalter said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
``We have an approximate area of origin but as to what caused it, we'll have to be digging through the rubble here to figure it out,'' he said.
Several vehicles inside the building also were destroyed, Hochhalter said.
