Fire claims operational heart of local elevator
Fire claims operational heart of local elevator
By ALLAN TINKER
Fire stole into McClusky in the middle of the night (Wednesday, August 4, early a.m.) and took the legs, distribution, cleaning, and scale of the McClusky Co-op Elevator’s grain storage and transfer section, the heart of most small town elevators.
What it didn’t take was the spirit of the workers, the brains of the people with the abilities to recover, and the muscles it will take to do the clean-up, restoration and rebuilding.
Very early in the morning, 1:15 or so, at a time made more sensitive by storm warnings, and thunder and lightning earlier in the night, a noise was out of place. That noise was the device at the Co-op Elevator sounding an alarm of fire.
Manager Brian Larson stated that the alarm had been wired into city hall and the fire whistle on the old system. When the new system was installed a couple of years ago, it didn’t match up. There was no longer a direct line to the city’s alarm and siren.
“It was better than nothing,” Larson added. “It still would have warned anyone who might have been here when the fire started.” And it was heard down the street.
Larson stated he received a call from Dale Jorgensen alerting him to the fire alarm. LoAnn had wakened her husband, Dale, when she was awakened by a sound like a whistle. She had gone to sleep with all the windows open.
