By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

“They say bad luck comes in threes, so hopefully it’s over.”

That proverb, uttered by Jack Nelson, rings true for his son’s family as of late.

The Brandon and Katelyn “Katie” Nelson family have suffered some pretty rotten luck lately, including a firearm accident and subsequent vehicle rollover—both of which thankfully only resulted in minor injuries—and most recently, the family’s business complex burned to the ground in the early hours of Friday, May 2.

“Katie smelled the smoke and went and looked out the bathroom window of our house,” said Brandon. “She saw smoke and a little bit of fire.”

“I saw a glow,” Katie agreed.

That fiery glow, burning just a short distance across their yard, quickly spread to engulf the entire building, which housed the family’s three businesses and their personal shop. After a phone call to the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office around 1:28 a.m., Brandon soon saw the New York Mills, Bluffton and Deer Creek Fire Departments rolling up next to his home in Newton Township.

The fire departments did what they were able to, however, in a matter of minutes the building had become a total loss. While the cause of the fire remains unknown and is being investigated by the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, the working theory is that the fire began in the office’s break room.

“They think it started in there, but they’ll be back next week to try to dig in,” said Brandon. “We gotta remove a bunch of stuff to be able to see.”

Along with the family’s personal shop, the approximately 9,500 square foot building housed Midwest Meat, a full-service meat shop; Tender Loving Tallow, a soap, lotion and candle company; as well as the design office for BK Builders, the family’s contracting company.

“With heavy hearts, we have suffered a total loss of our businesses,” read a social media post on each of the three business’ Facebook pages. “Please be patient with us as we rebuild. We know this will affect many of our wonderful customers. Our family and employees are all safe for which we are so thankful!”

While the family processed the fire and the loss of their businesses, the community outreach began. Comments of both concern and support flooded the respective business pages.

“Oh, it’s been endless,” said Brandon, “an endless outpouring of care and concern. I’m grateful that nobody was hurt. And I’m just hopeful that we’re able to build back better.”

“We’re grateful that it’s just a structure,” said Katie. “We grateful that everyone’s safe and it was just the building. It puts things in perspective.”

Despite the unfortunate series of events over the past month, the family retains a positive attitude and a sense of humor over the ordeal. Katie Nelson commented that BK Builders is coming up on their 10 year anniversary this year.

“Happy anniversary BK Builders,” Brandon joked somberly. “Hopefully this should wrap it up for us, we don’t need to have any more catastrophes.”

As for the future, the Nelsons are planning to do everything in their power to rebuild. With a resilient family and a supportive community by their side, they plan to get to work once the completion of the Fire Marshal’s investigation frees them up to begin the removal process of the debris.

“That’s our intention,” said Brandon. “First thing is just demo and disposal of this huge amount of wreckage, which we can’t touch right now. Then to start the design of the new facility. There’s so many unknowns, but if it’s feasible and possible, our intention is to rebuild.

“Although we have been through many trials in a short time the prayers have carried us through,” he finished. “It’s all in God’s hands and we will be taken care of.”