St. PAUL, Ark.
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Several people are without a job Thursday, after an overnight fire destroyed a Madison County saw mill.
Officials said the fire started at Willhite Forest Products on Highway 16 near St. Paul at about 10 p.m. Wednesday night.
At least one building is said to be a total loss. It's the building called the "mini mill" that processes small boards and pallets, which means more than a dozen people who worked there will become unemployed.
All that's left of the Willhite saw mill are pieces of smoldering debris.
The building is completely caved in.
It was totally, really engulfed when I got here, said St. Paul fire chief Sonny Varnell.
Varnell said it took firefighters 4 and a half hours to put the fire out overnight because the weather didn't help their cause. Of course, at 10 to 12 degrees last night, it presented significant problems to all of us."
All fire departments try to utilize various equipment. Hoses would freeze, valves would freeze, nozzles would freeze, said Varnell.
Luckily, no one was inside.
On surveillance video, owner Mark Willhite said he noticed smoke billowing in the northeast corner of the building.
Oh my, hell. It's been a family business for 50 years plus, said Willhite.
Eighteen people worked inside that saw mill. Now, Willhite regretfully said he has no choice but to let them go.
We've had gainful employment here for about 50 miles, said Willhite. This is all there is for people. People coming here this morning asking what are they going to do? Crying, it's tough.
He says he'll try to swap a few of them around to two other mills and let them work until the holiday.
We'll try to work with folks as much as possible. I know it's a tough time to be out of work. We'll do what we can, said Varnell.
Willhite said he's already drawing floor plans and talking with builders to get a brand new saw mill built.
He hopes in four months, he'll have a bigger and better building completed, and he'll be able to hire even more employees.
The cause of that fire is still under investigation.
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