Firefighters from Atlantic were called to the scene of a structure fire at 304 W. 2nd Street, Tuesday. The call came in at around 7:07-pm. Mike Trotter told KJAN News he was biking by and saw the smoke before calling it in. Cass County 9-1-1 Director Rob Koppert said when he arrived, flames were shooting out the front of a window, toward the street.

304 W. 2nd St. fire (Ric Hanson photo)

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees said fire crews saw the same thing when they arrived. The structure itself was not damaged, but the inside sustained severe smoke damage throughout, and significant fire damage toward the front.

The west half of the building was being rented by Dean Beech, who was using the structure for furniture refinishing. McNees said Beech had been working in the building on some furniture, and left at around 5-p.m to attend a meeting.

Photo from Atlantic Fire and Rescue’s Facebook page.

The Chief said they could see where the fire started, but were unable to determine how it began. Suspicions are centering around some rags which were soaked with linseed oil, with the cause possibly being spontaneous combustion. An electrical fire is not suspected.

McNees said while the inside was heavily damaged, it wouldn’t take much to rehab in in order for it to be used. Three vehicles were removed from an adjacent garage, including a custom pickup, a car and a motorcycle. No injuries were reported. Firefighters were on the scene for about 2-hours.