(St. Stephen MN-) A rural St. Joseph business was destroyed by fire Tuesday. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Department says they were called to Huls Brothers Trucking on Collegeville Road, about 4 miles west of St. Joseph, at 4:10 p.m. An employee reported he saw smoke coming from one of 8 semis parked inside the business, and ran to get a fire extinguisher. However, the smoke was too thick to reenter the building and emergency crews were notified. The sheriff’s department responded along with St. Joseph Police, Mayo Ambulance and MnDot, as well as fire departments from 7 different towns and St. John’s University. The building and all of it’s contents were destroyed. The state fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause.

The devastating fire at Huls Brothers Trucking has left the local community in shock. The loss of the building and all its contents will have a significant impact on the business and its employees. The state fire marshal’s office is working to determine the cause of the fire, but the damage is already done.