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Old bank building a total loss in Thor

No injuries reported

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Thor Fire Chief Kevin Olson, right, and a local resident, stand on scene Saturday where two structures were destroyed by fire along the city's main street.

THOR — Fire Chief Kevin Olson got a knock on his door late Friday night. It was more like a bang.

“A guy came by and was beating on my door,” Olson recalled. “He knew who I was.”

When Olson poked his head out the front door, he saw flames bursting from the old Humboldt Trust and Savings Bank building located along the town’s main street, Ann Street.

Olson lives just around the corner from the building.

“Fire was rolling out the back,” Olson said.

-Submitted photo
The old Humboldt Trust and Savings Bank glows orange after catching fire late Friday night in Thor. No injuries were reported.

His wife called Humboldt County dispatch at about 11:30 p.m.

Soon the entire building and a vacant building next to it were engulfed. That building, according to locals, used to be a mercantile store in the early 1900s.

Olson moved trucks out of a nearby shed before help arrived on scene. “Then we started pumping water,” Olson said.

Firefighters from Humboldt, Renwick, Goldfield, Vincent, Eagle Grove and Badger would ultimately arrive for support.

“Tons of man power and tons of fire trucks,” Olson said. “It was something to see.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Toppled bricks lay in front of the old Humboldt Trust and Savings Bank in Thor Saturday after the structure caught fire late Friday night.

Olson is one of seven volunteer firefighters in Thor.

“We are a small department,” he said. “We get wore out pretty quick. The cavalry showed up just in time.”

Many firefighters were up all night working the scene. “It’s been a long night,” Olson said.

No injuries were reported in the blaze.

“There’s a guy who would stay there every once in a while, but he wasn’t there,” Olson said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
A Thor volunteer firefighter walks past the remnants of the old Humboldt Trust and Savings Bank in Thor on Saturday. The structure caught fire Friday night. It and the building next to it are considered a total loss.

The two buildings are a total loss. A cause has not been determined.

Toppled bricks lay in front of the building Saturday morning, a sign of the ruin.

“More vacant lots in these small towns,” Olson said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
A Thor fire pickup trick is parked along the town's main street Saturday where two historic structures were destroyed by fire on Friday night.

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