A longtime St. Peter business and community gathering place was reduced to rubble Sunday morning during a fire at KingPins Bowling Center.
A state fire marshal was at the fire site at 1671 S. 3rd St. later in the day, and the cause remains under investigation, according to the St. Peter Fire Department.
Tyler Erickson, of St. Peter, who lives a block away on S. 4th Street, said he saw the flames from his house shortly after 7 a.m.
“I looked out and you could see the big flames shooting up with the smoke,” Erickson said.
Erickson said he witnessed one of the firefighters collapse shortly after he arrived, although no injuries were reported from the fire and no other buildings nearby were reported damaged.
The popular bowling alley on the south edge of town was purchased by Jessica Tonsfeldt and Dwight Selders in 2014. Selders was visibly shook up as he watched the building burn.