City, NUFD deal with aftermath of AMPI fire

Community rallies

around fire

department

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- As the New Ulm Fire Department scrambles to get back on its feet after the Dec. 1 fire that destroyed part of the Associated Milk Producers Inc. butter-packaging plant, Fire Chief Curt Curry is thankful.

At the scene of the fire -- which challenged as many as 79 local and area firefighters throughout the night -- cookies, coffee, sandwiches, water, soda pop, candy bars, homemade brownies, cake and other food were delivered.

"I never called anybody (for food and drink)," Curry said Wednesday at Engine House No. 1. "It's comforting to know how the community helped out in our time of need. I don't have a list of everybody that helped, but it goes on and on."

No one was injured in the fire. AMPI employees on the job at the time were safely evacuated.

Since the blaze in the plant -- which had 3 million pounds of butter inside, a good portion of which wound up in the city storm sewer system -- Curry has received more than 100 phone calls from people and organizations offering help to clean equipment damaged by butterfat grease created by the fire.

The damaged gear list included 32 pairs of boots, 40 helmet liners and eight air packs, a mile of fire hose, two portable radios, four collar microphones and 40 pairs of gloves.

Much of the gear is being evaluated by companies on whether or not it can be repaired.

If a fire breaks out in New Ulm in the near future, firefighters would don rented temporary gear.

Neighboring fire departments have loaned eight air packs to New Ulm. Local trucking companies dropped what they were doing and repaired fire trucks damaged by butterfat grease.

The fire, one of the New Ulm's largest in recent history, featured the first time the department used foam from an aerial ladder truck.

The blaze reached its height around 8:54 p.m. At that time, there were 36 New Ulm firefighters on Truck 70 and Engines 10 and 31.

Assistance from other departments included 20 firefighters from Lafayette; 17 from Courtland and six from the Sleepy Eye.

This week, the New Ulm Street Department helped an environmental cleanup company in the daunting task of removing huge amounts of frozen butter from the city storm sewer system. The job requires a high-pressure water truck and vacuum hoses in "Goosetown," the oldest part of town located within close proximity to the fire scene.

During the fire, city crews put sand on the streets and sidewalks, in an effort to collect the butterfat. They've been busy lately inspecting city trucks and skidsteers that will be used to remove snow later this winter.

New Ulm Street Department Superintendent Tom Patterson said the cool weather has helped keep the butter from smelling worse than it does.

"It's a very laborious job. They're just at the tip of the iceberg. The storm sewer is OK. It's just full of butter," Patterson said of the work done by the cleanup firm at AMPI's expense.

The cost of the fire and cleanup will not be known for an extended period of time. The cause remains under investigation, though it is believed to have started near the butter storage cooler compressors.

Milk shipments to the plant were not affected. Other butter plants across the country are handling AMPI orders.

The Environmental Protection Agency has not called the fire site or nearby storm sewer an environmentally hazardous site.

(Fritz Busch can be reached at fbusch@nujournal.com).