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A Gold Cross ambulance also sat nearby as a precautionary measure in case firefighters got overheated.

Barb Meyer said she was in Albert Lea at the time the fire started. She came home at about 5 p.m. and saw all the fire trucks and damage behind her home.

“I was scared to death, but then I saw everybody here doing their part and I calmed down,” she said. “Thanks to everybody who’s come in to help. It’s been tremendous.”

Friends and neighbors have brought her family food and have offered kind words.

She added she has not had much time to talk to her husband since the fire broke out because of the chaotic nature at the scene, but she does know there was smoke coming out of the sawmill shed when all of the sudden the shed went up in flames.

She is grateful the wind was blowing the direction it was, otherwise their home might have started fire as well.

She anticipated meeting with a representative from her insurance company sometime Thursday.

Ronald Hoag, who lives two miles south of Meyer’s property, said he and his wife, Pat, saw the smoke from their house and came to see what had happened.

He said they arrived at 2:30 p.m., and no Sheriff’s Office deputies or firefighters had yet made it to the scene.

“There was just lots of fire,” Hoag said. “Lenny was powerless.”

Hoag noted he felt sad to see Meyer’s property go up in flames and said he thinks Meyer had at least three employees.

“He runs a pretty good-sized saw mill,” he added.

The Minnesota State Patrol and the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office also assisted at the scene. The Albert Lea Salvation Army provided sandwiches, snacks and beverages to the crews and family.

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