A response team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating a fire in Arlington. The ATF team is working to find out what caused the incident at a mink processing plant last week.
Officials say the Top Lot Processors fire began at 2:20AM on Thursday March tenth. There were no injuries, but loss is estimated at approximately five million dollars. The South Dakota State Fire Marshal’s office, Department of Criminal Investigation, Arlington Volunteer Fire Department and Kingsbury County Sheriff’s Office are assisting in the investigation.
Tony Mangan is with the South Dakota Department of Public Safety. He says there’s a lot of ground to cover at the 65,000 square foot facility. He says the ATF National Response Team allows for more help in investigating the fire. It doesn’t mean this is a criminal case.
“What this is, is it’s more resources, more people,” Mangan says. “You know, when you have a large fire in a large building it takes time to go through the debris and look for clues and look for what might have occurred. And that’s why they’ve brought this group in because this is what this group does.”
Mangan says the investigation is ongoing. He doesn’t know when to expect the final report.