The American Legion building in Lake Park sustained heavy heat and smoke damage from a fire on Sunday evening, March 13.

The Legion wasn’t open at the time and nobody was injured, said Lake Park Fire Chief Dave Coufal.

The fire was reported by a passerby who saw the smoke at about 8:15 p.m.

“There was black smoke coming out of the door openings and white smoke coming out of the soffits, so I knew it was an oxygen-deprived fire,” Coufal said.

“We made entry through the front, and the heat was very significant inside,” he said. “We could see through to the back with our thermal imaging camera,” and it became clear that the fire was toward the rear of the building.

Firefighters went around the building and attacked the fire from a side door closer to the rear. They were on the scene until about 3 a.m., Coufal said.

The building is made of concrete block with metal siding, and the cause of the fire is not yet known, Coufal said.

There was significant fire and smoke damage to the building, with most of the fire damage contained to the east side, Lake Park Police Chief Brady Burnside said, adding that damage estimates were not yet available.

“While the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, it does not appear suspicious in nature,” Burnside said in a news release. “The Minnesota Fire Marshal’s Office was notified of the fire and were on scene before fire crews cleared, and will be leading the investigation."

Fire crews were assisted by the Lake Park ALERT rescue squad, White Earth Ambulance, and law enforcement agencies from Lake Park, Becker County, Mahnomen County and the Minnesota State Patrol.

Early on, the Moorhead Fire Department was asked to bring its ladder truck, because the Detroit Lakes Fire Department’s ladder truck is temporarily out of commission, but the Moorhead request was canceled because the fire was under control and not needed, Coufal said.

The Lake Park American Legion has about 140 members and meets monthly, said Adjutant Karen Erickson.

There is a bar and a kitchen in the building, and food is served occasionally (such as fish dinners during Lent) but it’s not open on a daily basis, added building manager Vince Larson. The kitchen was recently renovated and the interior of the building was remodeled several years ago.

As for future plans, “it’s completely undetermined at the moment,” Erickson said. “We can’t make any plans yet.”

Legion meetings could possibly be held in the city community center for the time being, Erickson said.

“We have a lot of support from the community,” Larson said. “So we figure everybody will pitch in when we figure out what we need.”

The American Legion building has always been one of the largest venues in Lake Park, and has hosted many wedding dances. Both Larson and Coufal said their own wedding dances were held there.

“We always needed community support,” Coufal said. “Now we need it even more.”