Fire at downtown Grand Forks building causes evacuation

Cindy Bonzer was working in her office Saturday evening at Bonzer's Sandwich Pub in downtown Grand Forks when she smelled smoke and went to investigate.

It wasn't until she went outside that she saw a blaze coming out of an exhaust fan behind the building, which was quickly evacuated, she said.

As she watched firefighters soak the charred wooden structure housing the fan and other equipment, her thoughts went back to the fire that destroyed the bar's previous incarnation during the 1997 flood.

"I grabbed my computer and some cash," she said. "I lost a ton of money in the last fire."

Joining the crowd behind the building at DeMers Avenue and North Fifth Street was Jeff Hogan and his dogs Molly and Leila, who live upstairs.

He, too, smelled smoke and evacuated with tenants of adjacent apartments, he said. As far as he could tell, everyone was fine but he feared there might be some smoke damage in a roommate's room, he said.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 4:42 p.m. and were able to snuff the fire out relatively quickly, according to Battalion Chief Kelli Flermoen. No one was injured to her knowledge, she said.

Besides Bonzer's and the apartments, the building is also home to Dreas Hookah Lounge and Guiseppe's Italian restaurant.

Alex Trelstad, a bartender at Bonzer's, said he arrived just as one of the other bartenders was trying to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, but it was a lost cause. He guessed he probably has the rest of the night off, he said as he watched firefighters from a nearby parking ramp.

Cindy Bonzer said the location of the blaze suggests it was caused by an electrical fire.

Flermoen said investigators are still trying to determine the damage even as firefighters dig into the structure to ensure no hot spots remain. She said she couldn't say when tenants would be allowed back in the building.

Hogan said he wasn't sure yet where he'd stay Saturday night if he couldn't get back in.

Call Tran at (701) 780-1248, (800) 477-6572 ext. 1248 or send email to ttran@gfherald.com .