BROWNSDALE, Minn. — A small town in far southeastern Minnesota is in mourning following the loss of an iconic gathering place over the weekend.
Fire crews from a number of communities were dispatched to the Rohler Rink in Brownsdale just before 11 p.m. Saturday, after a passerby reported seeing flames leaping from the roof.
KTTC Television reports that firefighters from Brownsdale and Austin arrived on scene to find the southern part of the building was fully engulfed. Dexter, Rose Creek and Adams Fire Departments soon showed up to help with water.
The fire was declared out at about 4 a.m. Sunday. Fire officials say the building and contents are a total loss.
Two Brownsdale Firefighters reported non-life threatening injuries. One was treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation, while the other was taken to Mayo Clinic-Saint Mary's to be treated after a fall.
Authorities say no one was inside the Rohler Rink at the time of the fire. The official cause remains under investigation.
The Rochester Post Bulletin says the rink has been in business in the town of 700 people since the 1950s, and has hosted generations of birthday parties and date nights.
Brian Gerhart, who owns the local auto body shop, recalls growing up a block from the rink and skating there as a kid. He told the Post Bulletin it is hard to imagine Brownsdale without its iconic roller rink.
“If you were in an elevator at the Mayo Clinic, and someone asked you where you were from, and you said, Brownsdale, they’d say, ‘Oh, the place with the roller rink,'” Gerhart said. “It’s a landmark.”
For the last 15 years or so the business has been owned by Brett and Rhonda Rohl, hence the unusual current spelling of the rink's name.