DULUTH — Investigators in St. Louis County recovered a body after a structure fire in Gnesen Township.
Emergency personnel responded to the scene around 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, to a pole building engulfed in flames on Rice Lake Road.
One person was unaccounted for and believed to be inside the pole building.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release that “rescue efforts were not possible due to extreme fire conditions,” and fire personnel reportedly checked other locations the individual was known to frequent.
Shortly after 8 p.m., investigators located the body of a 75-year-old Duluth man at the scene of the fire.
He was identified as Neil Gordon Hendrickson. The fire appears to be accidental and was likely caused by Hendrickson’s use of a grinder and blow torch to work on a vehicle. The incident remains under investigation.
