Firefighters from eight fire districts on the North Shore responded to a fire at Bluefin Bay Resort in Tofte on Saturday, June 8. By the time the fire was extinguished, five condominium units in the popular North Shore resort had been severely damaged.
Firefighters from eight fire districts in Cook County as well as from Finland and Silver Bay in Lake County were paged to assist at a fire at Bluefin Bay Resort in Tofte on Saturday, June 8. By the time the fire was extinguished and all departments were released, it was almost 10 p.m. and five condominium units at the popular North Shore resort had been severely damaged.
The fire was discovered by a maintenance employee at about 12:30 p.m. The Tofte Fire Department was paged and when the first firefighters arrived on the scene at 12:40 p.m., help from the Lutsen Fire Department was requested. Just moments later, at 12:46 p.m., fire was visible on the roof of the unit where the fire is believed to have started. Warm weather and wind fed the flames, and at 12:49 p.m. firefighters reported that a second unit was on fire. The fire spread to four units before being extinguished. An additional unit sustained extensive water damage.
Schroeder Fire Chief Phil Bonin served as incident commander and called for additional help. Eventually there were firefighters on the scene from Tofte, Schroeder, Lutsen, Grand Marais, Maple Hill, Gunflint Trail, Colvill, Hovland, plus Finland and Silver Bay fire departments from Lake County. The Finland Fire Department brought its air tanker to refill the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) used by firefighters.
No one was in the units when the fire broke out and there were no injuries while the community firefighters battled the blaze. Cook County Ambulance was on hand to ensure that firefighters were not overcome by heat and smoke. Minnesota State Patrol, Cook County Sheriff ’s Deputies, and the STOP traffic control team assisted with keeping onlookers out of harm’s way and directed motorists driving through the thick smoke that drifted over Highway 61.
As firefighters battled the blaze, Bluefin Bay employees evacuated the other units in the burning building, as well as an adjacent building. The evacuations affected about 80 – 100 resort guests. Resort manager Dennis Rysdahl said Bluefin’s guest services staff found alternative lodging for all the guests in the damaged units that evening. Guests did lose personal items, however.
Although there is some speculation that the cause of the fire was a wood-burning stove malfunctioning, Rysdahl told the Duluth News Tribune, “Bluefin Bay hires a company to clean and inspect chimneys on its property twice a year.” He said the chimneys were last inspected in April.
The State Fire Marshal’s office inspected the site of the fire on June 9. At press time the cause of the fire had not been released.
The Bluefin Bay on Lake Superior Facebook page has been flooded with well wishes from community members and former guests. Bluefin Bay promises to provide updates on the Facebook page of the rebuilding process.
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