March 11--SAUK RAPIDS -- Fire severely damaged a 24-unit storage building early Monday morning.
The fire was reported at 12:03 a.m. at 731 Benton County Road 1. A Benton County deputy driving past spotted the fire.
The fire was in a metal storage building about 20 feet wide and 100 feet long, Sauk Rapids Fire Chief Tony Hommerding said.
About 80 percent of the building and the units were destroyed, Hommerding said. Many of them were filled with items that people were storing including a boat and cars.
A damage estimate and a cause was unavailable this morning. The state fire marshal has been called to investigate.
Fire fighters saw flames when they arrived. Strong winds and some of the items in the storage units helped aid the fire and made fighting it a challenge, Hommerding said.
"It definitely was a difficult fire to fight," Hommerding said.
Firefighters were on scene for about six hours. Sartell Fire Department assisted.
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