Fire destroys 5 businesses in Malta building

Fire destroys 5 businesses in Malta building

MALTA — A fire broke out early Wednesday in downtown Malta, destroying a building that housed a weekly newspaper and forcing the evacuation of a nearby hotel, authorities said.

Crews from four fire departments prevented the blaze from spreading to buildings on either side, said Phillips County Sheriff Tom Miller. No injuries were reported.

The 90-year-old brick building was reduced to rubble by afternoon, with only a rear concrete wall standing.

"The ceiling's gone, the front end's fallen," Miller said. "I don't think there's going to be anything left of that building."

The fire was largely contained late Wednesday morning, though fire crews were putting out hot spots and billows of smoke were blowing over downtown Malta into the afternoon, witnesses said.

The Great Northern Hotel, two doors down and less than 200 feet away from the blaze, was evacuated as a precaution. The hotel's owner knocked on doors before dawn and nobody was allowed to return until after 12:30 p.m., front desk clerk Kathy Foster said.

"I think most everybody was on the street watching," Foster said. "All of downtown was just lined up with people."

The fire has destroyed the newspaper's office and four other businesses in the building, Miller said.

The buildings on either side each share a wall with the burned building. Those neighboring businesses, a bar and a department store, reported smoke damage, Phillips County News reporter John Degel told The Associated Press.

The fire was reported about 3:45 a.m. by a garbage collector who noticed smoke coming out of the back of the building, Degel said.

The building, built around 1920, is owned by the newspaper's owner and publisher, Curtis Starr. The building also housed a beauty parlor, an appliance store, a variety store and a T-shirt and print shop, Degel said.

The fire is believed to have started in the basement, though the cause is not yet known, Miller said.

Degel said the newspaper will still go to press Wednesday, and will be distributed at businesses around town for subscribers to pick up "on the honor system."

It was not immediately clear where the newspaper's staff of six would operate in the near term. One possibility is working out of the owner's basement, he said.

The northeastern town of Malta has a population of about 2,300 and is about 200 miles north of Billings. At least four other fires have broken out on the same block over the last 50 years or so, Degel said.

MALTA — A fire broke out early Wednesday in downtown Malta, destroying a building that housed a weekly newspaper and forcing the evacuation of a nearby hotel, authorities said.

Crews from four fire departments prevented the blaze from spreading to buildings on either side, said Phillips County Sheriff Tom Miller. No injuries were reported.

The 90-year-old brick building was reduced to rubble by afternoon, with only a rear concrete wall standing.

"The ceiling's gone, the front end's fallen," Miller said. "I don't think there's going to be anything left of that building."

The fire was largely contained late Wednesday morning, though fire crews were putting out hot spots and billows of smoke were blowing over downtown Malta into the afternoon, witnesses said.

The Great Northern Hotel, two doors down and less than 200 feet away from the blaze, was evacuated as a precaution. The hotel's owner knocked on doors before dawn and nobody was allowed to return until after 12:30 p.m., front desk clerk Kathy Foster said.

"I think most everybody was on the street watching," Foster said. "All of downtown was just lined up with people."

The fire has destroyed the newspaper's office and four other businesses in the building, Miller said.

The buildings on either side each share a wall with the burned building. Those neighboring businesses, a bar and a department store, reported smoke damage, Phillips County News reporter John Degel told The Associated Press.

The fire was reported about 3:45 a.m. by a garbage collector who noticed smoke coming out of the back of the building, Degel said.

The building, built around 1920, is owned by the newspaper's owner and publisher, Curtis Starr. The building also housed a beauty parlor, an appliance store, a variety store and a T-shirt and print shop, Degel said.

The fire is believed to have started in the basement, though the cause is not yet known, Miller said.

Degel said the newspaper will still go to press Wednesday, and will be distributed at businesses around town for subscribers to pick up "on the honor system."

It was not immediately clear where the newspaper's staff of six would operate in the near term. One possibility is working out of the owner's basement, he said.

The northeastern town of Malta has a population of about 2,300 and is about 200 miles north of Billings. At least four other fires have broken out on the same block over the last 50 years or so, Degel said.