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Crews respond to fire on decommissioned ship in Duluth harbor

The 112-year-old ship was sitting at a scrapyard in the Duluth harbor when a fire was sparked Monday.

DULUTH, Minn. — Firefighters responded to a fire on board a decommissioned ship in the Duluth harbor Monday afternoon.

According to KARE 11 sister station KBJR, crews were trying to dismantle the ship when a spark caught some wood on fire. The 112-year-old J.B. Ford was towed to the Duluth scrapyard in October 2015.

The J.B. Ford was the oldest active freighter on the Great Lakes at that time, and ended up at the scrap yard despite efforts to have it preserved as a museum. The Duluth News Tribune reported in 2014 that the Great Lakes Steamship Society abandoned its plan to save the ship due to difficulties raising enough money.

The slip where the ship is docked is owned by Azcon Metals.

A spokesperson for the City of Duluth told KBJR that the fire broke out around 3:15 p.m. A KBJR tower camera captured a view of flames and smoke rising from the ship at about 3:30 p.m.

   

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