Fire at MnSP in Brewster

BREWSTER — Multiple fire departments were on the scene of a blaze at the Minnesota Soybean Processors plant in Brewster Saturday night into the early morning hours on Sunday.

The fire call was reported shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, according to Nobles County Sheriff Kent Wilkening.

Flames were seen coming from the plant according to sources living in and around the city of Brewster, and Wilkening said when he left his home near Fulda, he could see an “orange glow” coming from the direction of the soybean plant.

Gathered with emergency personnel at the Brewster Fire Hall, Wilkening said shortly before midnight that the fire was “pretty well contained.”

Because of the nature of the materials at the soybean plant, which processes soybeans into biodiesel, there was concern for the residents of Brewster. MnSP, a 2,300-plus membership cooperative, employs about 70 people and processes some 35 million bushels of locally grown soybeans each year.

Wilkening said the sheriff’s department went door to door in the city limits of Brewster, asking everyone to evacuate. Those who didn’t have a place to go were directed to the emergency shelter in Worthington, located at the American Reformed Church, 1720 N. Burlington Ave.

In addition to evacuating the town, Wilkening said residents living in rural areas within a mile of the plant were also asked to leave their homes. Minnesota 60 was closed to traffic from the Blue Line Travel Center north to several miles beyond Brewster, and the Union Pacific rail line was also halted.

Evacuation orders were lifted and traffic on Minnesota 60 and the rail line were allowed to resume as of 12:55 a.m. Sunday.

Joyce Jacobs, executive director of the Southwest Minnesota Chapter of the American Red Cross, said 18 residents of Brewster sought emergency shelter at the American Reformed Church. The first of the evacuees arrived at the church at approximately 11:30 p.m. Jacobs was still at the church at 1:15 a.m., as sandwiches had been brought in to serve the residents.

“They are eating, and they will be leaving shortly,” said Jacobs, adding that many wanted to wait until a lot of the traffic had cleared out.

Fire departments from Brewster, Round Lake, Okabena, Lakefield, Heron Lake, Rushmore, Worthington, Jackson, Windom, Luverne and Arnolds Park, Iowa, were known to have responded. Wilkening said the Nobles County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Murray, Jackson and Cottonwood counties and the Minnesota State Patrol. The Worthington Ambulance was also on the scene, and other agencies responded as well.