Firefighters make quick work of fire in downtown Rochester

Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 6:20 PM

By Wes Dehne

A generator that has been the subject of recent noise complaints may be the cause of a structure fire that broke out Friday night in downtown Rochester.

Emergency personnel were dispatched to the fire at approximately 10:45 p.m. It began at the back of 802 Main St. and injured at least one person inside, according to Rochester Fire Chief T.J. DuBois.

"The whole back room was engulfed in flames when we got there," he said, adding that police had already done a great job to evacuate the building and get traffic stopped on Main Street.

Rochester firefighters, later joined by those of Akron and Kewanna, focused their initial efforts at a back door of the building. They then moved to the front, and finally made entry through the upstairs windows.

DuBois noted the fire was under control in about 10 minutes of firefighters arriving on scene. He credited the quick actions of all emergency personnel involved for damage being contained mostly to that building.

"Akron, Kewanna, police, medics, I mean, everybody really filtered in and did their job in a very, very quick method, and that's the reason it was one building and not three," he said. "The two buildings on each side had some minor smoke damage. They're still habitable, so we had a pretty quick knockdown on it."

The building that caught fire is salvageable, he added. "It's certainly going to take quite a bit of rehab. Structurally it's fine, but the fire damage is extensive on the inside."

Firefighters remained on scene for roughly three hours, spending much of that time removing smoke from the adjoining buildings.

A man occupying the lower floor of the building was reportedly transported by Parkview EMS. Recent police reports indicate that he had been using a generator to get electricity to the building and was even issued a warning following multiple noise complaints.

"The use of the generator back there is what it looks like to us," DuBois said when asked about a potential cause, confirming that electric was off to the building.

He noted that two generators with significant fire damage were found at the back of the building, however, it is unknown if they were on at the time. Investigation is ongoing.