Fire damages Page 1 Printers, affects local ad inserts

A fire Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 15,  at Page 1 Printers in Slayton caused damage to the warehouse portion of the building and sent four people for medical treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the warehouse, sparing the facility’s printing operations.
The Rock County Star Herald and Luverne Announcer are printed at Page One in Slayton, and publications themselves weren’t affected by the fire.
However, the Announcer inserts, such as Bomgaars, Sunshine and Runnings, were already printed and waiting in the warehouse to be inserted in the Announcer in the coming days.
Those inserts were destroyed, and the Announcer was distributed over the weekend minus the advertising inserts. 
Bomgaars was able to share its files directly with Page One and some of those inserts were printed in time for distribution.
The fire began in the paper baler, while a worker was packing waste newsprint and paper trimmings into bales for recycling. A motor apparently failed, producing sparks that ignited paper in the baler. 
While the company is still assessing structural and equipment damage, Page 1 Printers has made arrangements to continue printing the Announcer and Star Herald, as well as other publications and commercial print jobs it handles in the region.
The baler was destroyed and there was loss of newsprint and other paper inventory, due to fire, smoke and water. 
 Because smoke spread throughout the plant, extensive cleaning is required and all equipment must be wiped clean and gone over to ensure ash and smoke particles are removed, especially in electronic components. Owners of the plant are Chuck Draper of Pipestone and Jim Keul of Tracy. 
The plant employs about 55 people, full and part-time, and none will lose their jobs. The loss was insured.