FLASHER - Residents came out Saturday morning to see a landmark burn. The Flasher fire department was on hand as the old, leaning elevator on Main Street was set on fire. Area fire departments kept the fire from damaging nearby buildings, setting fire to a stand of trees or starting a grass fire.

"It went out up the top. It really burned," fire chief Andy Kuntz said.

The elevator company decided to burn the building down, Mayor Bob Nelson said. It was built in the early 1900s, possibly 1910, he said. The elevator hasn't been used, on account that it leans. Flasher has a larger elevator across the street.

A strong breeze helped feed the fire, making it burn faster, Kuntz said. The fire averaged 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. At one point, the fire reached 1,700 degrees when a firefighter from MacIntosh, S.D., walked by the opening on the north side of the elevator, Kuntz said.

The building is now a pit of rubble and will smolder for several days, Kuntz said.

It took a couple of days for the fire to be planned. The department set up a "hot zone" with brightly spray-painted stakes, and set up a perimeter to keep the fire contained. They also established escape routes, so that the vehicles on the perimeter did not block these routes in an emergency.

Fire units from Elgin, New Leipzig, Almont and MacIntosh, S.D., were on hand, along with some men from New Salem. The emergency managers from Morton County and Grant County also helped with the planning.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)