Burnt, but back in business: Propane torch used to de-ice doors cause of Ready Mix fire

• Fire building

A worker at Dickinson Ready Mix Co. and Concrete Products goes about business Friday, less than 24 hours after a fire broke out at the old mixing plant, located at 37 Westgate Ave. The cause of the fire was connected to a propane torch used on the exterior of the building to melt ice around a door.

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A single wall appears to be the only collateral damage after a fire early Thursday evening at Dickinson Ready Mix Co. and Concrete Products.

Dickinson Fire Department Chief Bob Sivak said 30 firefighters were called to a fire around 6:06 p.m. Thursday at Dickinson Ready Mix, located at 37 Westgate Ave., near the intersection of First Street Southwest and State Avenue.

“The fire started in an exterior wall space of the old batch building,” he said. “The cause of the fire is related to a propane torch that is used on the exterior of the building to melt ice around a metal door. The door frame conducted heat to the wooden framing members of the wall and the result was what happened (Thursday) night.”

By 6:42 p.m. Thursday, Sivak said firefighters had the fire under control, but extensive overhaul was needed.

No one was hurt in the fire, he added, but there was damage to one of the walls at the facility.

Sivak said there was also quite a bit of smoke produced by the fire, but he did not believe that it would cause a serious problem.

The last unit of firefighters vacated the scene a few minutes after 8 p.m., Sivak said.

Scott Olin, general manager at Dickinson Ready Mix Co. and Concrete Products, said Friday morning that he expected the facility, which he said is used as a secondary batch plant, to be back in operation by sometime late in the day on Friday.

“I think we really dodged a bullet (Thursday) night,” Olin told The Dickinson Press. “There was minimal damage and it was confined to a wooden wall on the west side of the building. We’ll have to wait and see what the costs will be, but I expect it will be minimal.”

Olin said there were no Dickinson Ready Mix employees in the building when the fire reportedly broke out.

In the more than three decades that Olin has been with the company, he believed this was the first incident of its kind at the plant.

In addition to the fire department, Dickinson Police Department and Dickinson Ambulance responded to the incident, and Montana-Dakota Utilities was called to the scene to shutoff electric and gas service to the building.

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