The fire that scuttled the granary at Dentinger’s Feed and Seed was ruled an accident by the state fire marshal last week. (The Enterprise/Pat Caldwell)
VALE – Before the fire blazed it to the ground, the Dentinger Feed and Seed granary had been producing feed since 1943.
Today, the mill is little but charred beams and walls.
But because of high demand, co-owner Rick Dentinger is determined to start milling feed again.
“We’re making plans and are in the process of getting things up and running,” Dentinger said Monday.
He explained that the family is “working on a temporary solution to just get production going.”
This would involve bringing in some grain and new equipment to replace the machinery that was lost to the fire in July. The Dentingers have long made custom mixes of livestock feed.
Meanwhile, it’s unclear how long it could take to rebuild the grain mill.
“We’re going to try to do what we were doing before,” said Dentinger, who hopes to get the grain mill operation back to its original state.
However, he said plans will depend on what his firm can get from insurance.
Last week, fire officials ruled the fire was accidental.
An investigation led by Deputy State Fire Marshal Casey Kump found that witness statements and videos “were consistent with an accidental fire.”
The fire destroyed the mill’s grain elevator, burning through significant portions of the building until the structure completely collapsed.
Dentinger is grateful for the community support that he and his family have received since the fire.
“We get lots of people from the community offering to help in any way they can,” said Dentinger.
The future location of the feed mill and grain elevator is yet to be determined. “We’re far from that right now,” he said.
Kristen de Leon: [email protected] or 541-473-3377.