| Old Country Pub building burns |
By: Ed Lee
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Posted: Saturday, December 6, 2008 3:41 pm
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Firefighters from 10 area departments conducted a controlled burn Saturday on the old Country Pub/Creekside Supper Club building off Highway 22 near Kasota.
"It's a unique situation in that it's a commercial building and the floor plan creates new challenges for the guys," said Tim Zehnder, fire training program coordinator at South Central Technical College.
Zehnder helped coordinate the control burn, which began around 8 a.m.
The building is long, which meant firefighters wanted to attack the fire from both ends. It has a basement, which tends to present more of an enclosed feeling for firefighters. And, it's out in the country, away from a ready water source like a hydrant.
Fire trucks from Kasota, St. Peter, Cleveland, Le Center, Le Sueur, Henderson, Madison Lake, Eagle Lake, North Mankato and Mankato.
Zehnder's goal was to get the fire departments working together. They set up pools at both ends of the building and lined up water tanker trucks to feed the pools. Water from the pools was used to fight the fires. Tanker trucks, which came from several departments, shuttled water from City of Kasota to the fire scene.
"We can flow water from one end (pool) to the other," Zehnder said. "That's called jetting."
The fire departments worked on ventilation operations, interior fire tack and other coordinated efforts. Water-soaked, soot-covered firefighters emerged with nearly empty oxygen tanks on their backs from the basement of the building, where thick smoke and flames billowed.
"You see that white smoke?" Zehnder asked. "White smoke means the guys are doing a good job of knocking the fire down. When you see smoke that's black, gray or any other color, then it might be a different story."
Zehnder said the steam factor, encouraged by the cold weather, played a role in how white the smoke was.
Zehnder and the departments did not want ideal conditions for the controlled burn. "It's a lot better if it's 50 degrees and no wind," he smiled.
The 10-degree and windy conditions had a freezing effect on some of the equipment, including hoses.
Firefighters can easily get dehydrated even in cold outdoor temperatures. "When that happens, the heart rate drops," Zehnder said.
For a guy in Zehnder's occupation, having a building like the old Creekside Supper Club is a dream.
"It's wonderful to have a situation like this," Zehnder said. "We had a coordination meeting last Monday to see what everyone was bringing. It's great to be able to work together. This is purely about training."
Property owners wanted the building off the property to make way for a new vineyard that is planned.
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