Photo courtesy of Emma J Lipinski Flames shoot through the second-story windows and roof of an Ivanhoe building in the early hours of Friday morning. Firefighters from Ivanhoe and several area fire departments worked for hours to put out the blaze. The building, the former location of a cafe, had been undergoing renovations.

IVANHOE — It took firefighters from several area communities to help put out a blaze in an Ivanhoe building in the early hours of Friday morning.

There were no injuries reported, but the roof and upper story of the building were damaged. Responders kept the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings.

“We tried to keep it contained,” said Ivanhoe Fire Chief Shad Lipinski.

Windy conditions and a lack of water posed a challenge for firefighters, so multiple area departments were called in for mutual aid.

Lipinski said the fire is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, but it was not considered suspicious.

Lipinski said the Ivanhoe Fire Department was paged around 12:15 a.m. Friday, after a caller saw fire coming from the roof of a building at the corner of North Norman Street and West Saxon Street. In the past, the building had been the location of a local cafe. The property’s current owner was in the process of renovating the building, Lipinski said.

“It was being remodeled, too. That’s the terrible part,” he said of the fire.

Ivanhoe firefighters attacked the fire from both inside and outside the building, Lipinski said.

“The wind was very strong,” which made putting the fire out challenging, he said. Mutual aid was called in, partly to help supply enough water to fight the fire.

“We drained the water tower,” Lipinski said.

He estimated the city water tower held 75,000 gallons. Firefighters also brought water in from sources like a pond and a lake outside of Ivanhoe.

Lipinski said the Hendricks, Arco, Lake Benton, Tyler, Canby, Minneota and Marshall Fire Departments all responded at the scene, as well as the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Ivanhoe Ambulance. Tools like a drone and the Marshall Fire Department’s aerial truck helped responders fight the flames on the upper story of the building.

Ivanhoe community members and local firefighters’ families were on hand to help provide drinking water and food as responders battled the flames. The Ivanhoe Supermarket, located across the street from the fire, opened up around 2:30 a.m. so supporters could get supplies, said assistant manager Ginny Hoaas.

Lipinski said it took several hours to extinguish the fire.

“We were there until 7 (a.m.),” he said.

Part of the building’s roof was gone, and there was fire damage on the upstairs level, Lipinski said. There was also water damage to the lower levels of the building.

Friday wasn’t the first time in recent years that there had been a large fire in Ivanhoe’s business district. In 2017, a fire destroyed an auto shop along Railroad Street.

Ivanhoe residents said the fire was a topic of conversation around town on Friday. Barriers and caution tape blocked off an area around the damaged building, and some fallen bricks could be seen on the sidewalk. A few vehicles traveling along North Norman Street could be seen slowing down or pausing as they passed the former cafe.