Ladysmith cement plant owner vows to rebuild after fire

Jan. 3--A structure fire has leveled a concrete plant in Ladysmith, but the owner vows to rebuild as soon as possible.

The fire at Haas Sons, 6399 Highway 27, was reported at about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday, said Ladysmith Fire Chief Kyle Gibbs.

"Upon our arrival, the structure was fully engulfed," Gibbs said. "The structure is a total loss."

Two cement trucks and one end-loader were inside the steel building, Gibbs said, and those vehicles also are a total loss.

"The cause is undetermined and isn't likely to ever be known," he said.

Fighting the blaze brought some unique problems, Gibbs added.

"The big challenge is it was a gated facility, and we didn't have a key to get in," he said. "They were able to hook onto the chain (on the gate) and pull it to get it open."

Not only was the gate locked, the building was about a quarter-mile from the gate, and the area hadn't been plowed. So, the road was plowed to allow firefighting equipment to get to the building.

Gibbs said about 25 to 30 firefighters were at the scene, including mutual aid from the Bruce and Sheldon fire departments, the Rusk County Sheriff's Office and the Ladysmith EMS. Additionally, the Rusk County Highway Department workers showed up to lay down salt.

Firefighters remained on the scene until 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, New Year's Day, he said. They weren't able to salvage the building.

"We had to take everything apart to get everything out," Gibbs said.

Gary Haas, co-owner of the business, said the building was constructed in 2010. He estimates the building was 60 feet long by 80 feet wide. Three workers are assigned to that building, but on any given day, up to 10 workers are there. He isn't sure what could have caused the fire. Despite it being a total loss, Haas said he was relieved. Because of the holiday, no one was there.

"It could be worse; there wasn't a fatality," Haas said. "If you look at the big picture, something bad could have happened. There were no injuries."

Haas is meeting with his insurance agents on Tuesday, but he was optimistic he will be able to rebuild, with a goal of starting in the spring.

Haas Sons has five Redi-Mix concrete locations, with the others in Eau Claire, Thorp, Bloomer and Wilson. If there was a need for concrete, they could get it from their other sites.

"In the winter time, there isn't much happening. There isn't much home building going on," he said.

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