Updated at: 12/04/2009 10:24 AM | KSAX.com
By: Megan Matthews
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Barrett Fire Affects Entire Community

BARRETT, MINN. - Site Manager Duane Haabala is still in shock after a devastating fire destroyed the Palmer Bus building.

"We didn't just lose buses.  That was the last ten years of my life that went up in smoke last night," Haabala said.

He describes the building as his second home, and now his second home is completely destroyed.

"Phone numbers, training material.  Everything's gone.  We have to start all over again," Haabala said.

The fire destroyed the whole building, power tools, parts, even 110 gallons of oil.  Some of the biggest losses were six vehicles; four of them busses all used by Grant County.

"It was our newer busses that were stored inside.  Our newest busses burned up," Haabala said.

The company stores most of its school busses outside, but two of the three county busses were destroyed.  That loss will be felt by many, including seniors living in the nearby Barrett Care Center.

"It has a huge impact on our elderly here and our residents in particular too, because we don't have our own van service here so we really rely heavily on them," Social Worker Laurie Hagen said.

Hagen says seniors depend on the affordable transportation for everything from getting groceries to visiting family, and most importantly, visits to the doctor.

"It's just shocking that it happened and it affects us on a daily basis," Hagen said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, according to Grant County Sheriff.

"Well there's always certainly a lot of curiosity as to how the fire started, and there's a lot of speculation, but at this time it's still under investigation," Sergeant Jon Combs said.

It could be under investigation for awhile.  In fact, it could take until spring before we know what happened, and it might take even longer to clean up, according to owner Floyd Palmer.

The bus company doesn't know yet how much it will cost to clean up the building.  The insurance company is assessing the damage, and it will most likely be a costly clean up project.

Seven Agencies Respond to Bus Explosion at Barrett's Bus Garage

Written for the web by Megan Matthews

megan@ksax.com