NEW ULM -- Firefighters from New Ulm and area towns converged on the Associated Milk Producers Inc. butter plant Wednesday night to fight one of the largest fires in recent history.
Neither AMPI nor New Ulm Fire Department officials could confirm the exact cause of the fire.
Teams of firefighters from New Ulm, Sleepy Eye, Courtland and Lafayette continued to fight the blaze late into the evening. The intense fire consumed half the roof.
An AMPI employee discovered the fire in an utility area around 6 p.m. Firefighters arrived on the scene twenty minutes later.
The 30 workers in the butter- packaging plant were evacuated safely and were sent home.
The plant was holding an estimated 3 million pounds of butter at the time of the fire.
Bill Swan, plant manager, said the total value of the damage won't be known until company officials can inspect the building.
The plant, which has stood in New Ulm since 1970, employs 180 people, making it one of New Ulm's largest employers.
Of AMPI's 13 plants, it is the only one that packages butter. It is also considered the largest butter-packaging plant in the U.S. It is located a few blocks beyond the downtown business area.
New Ulm Fire Chief Curt Curry said the blaze is one of the largest in the city since 1997. He ranked the fire a "9" on a scale of one to 10.
Because the fire attracted spectators and vehicles, police cordoned off a one-block radius around the plant with yellow police line tape.
As the weather grew colder, city trucks were dispatched to the scene to deal with the ice created by running water from fire hoses.
Officials expressed some concerns that the melted butter that was running out of the plant would interfere with the railroad tracks bordering the plant's east end.
Firefighters tried to enter the building from three different sides, but they realized the situation inside was too dangerous and were forced to retreat.
Two aerial ladder trucks from New Ulm and Sleepy Eye poured water down into the building.
A truck from Mankato brought extra air tanks for the firefighters.
The Red Cross arrived to distribute bottled water and sandwiches to the firefighters. A crew of paramedics from New Ulm Medical Center was also on hand, but had not treated any personnel.
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