FREEBURG — Fire destroyed the Hilke’s Ice plant and warehouse in Freeburg last Wednesday morning, June 19. No one was injured in the fire, but the facility is a total loss. The company, however, continues to provide ice to its customers without interruption while making plans to rebuild.   

“We’re doing pretty good,” said owner Laron Hilke. “My employees are outstanding, and everybody’s been so supportive.”

Hilke said his employees know the company is coming back, and they will keep their jobs through this difficult time. Ice deliveries will continue. “Thank God we have the warehouses in Eldon and Cuba,” he added. “We can store a lot of ice there. The night of the 19th, I ordered three ice-makers and the storage bin, and we’re going to rebuild.”

He hopes for a mild winter so they can complete construction in time to start making ice at the new Freeburg plant around the first of March 2025.

According to a Missouri Division of Fire Safety news release, the fire was accidental. “I called them at about 6 a.m. and asked them to come down,” said Freeburg Fire Chief Brady Iven. “They quickly determined it was an accident.”

Video footage from inside the structure showed the fire originated at one of the machines. Employees discovered the fire while loading pallets of ice into trucks and called 911. 

Freeburg Community Fire Association crews were dispatched to the scene at approximately 12:37 a.m. on Wednesday and arrived within minutes. Flames and black smoke were coming through the roof along the structure’s south side.

Iven noted that about 90% of his 27 firefighters responded to the call. “That’s actually a very good response,” he said. “Everyone is a volunteer and has jobs and other things scheduled. It’s not always easy for guys to break away, even for such a devastating fire. I’m proud of everyone for their hard work.”

Iven, who worked for Hilke Ice for three years during high school, knew the original plant’s layout. However, he was not as sure about the other parts of the warehouse.

“The old number one freezer in the storage area was first, then it hit number two, and I started getting a little nervous because Laron’s house is right there,” said Iven. “I didn’t know if we needed to start moving resources to protect that. But we had Vienna’s truck set up on the south side of the number three freezer, and they were able to shoot on top of it with their aerial. That really helped keep the fire from going on to the south side and that freezer.”

He was most concerned about sections in the warehouse that were not visible to the naked eye. “We did our best to control the fire, but it was raging,” said Iven.

Naden Luebbert of Echo Valley Productions in Westphalia flew a drone to capture thermal images of hot spots in the structure. “That was very helpful,” said Iven. “We appreciate him doing that for us.”

Most fire departments cannot afford to purchase a drone or a thermal-imaging camera. “They usually start at about $5,000, and that’s a pretty significant amount for a small budget in a volunteer department,” said Iven. “Naden was there in the morning to show some hotspots where we really couldn’t determine what was still burning. Because of the construction of the building and stuff like that, it was hard to get into the places that we actually needed to see. It was a benefit to have him there.”

Crews from Westphalia, Wardsville (Osage Fire Protection District), Linn, Meta, Argyle, Vichy, and Vienna initially responded to join Freeburg’s efforts.

“Mutual aid is critical,” said Iven, noting it would have been impossible to contain the fire without help.

Linn Fire Protection District (LFPD) paged out at 12:40 on Wednesday morning, and his team was happy to help. “Our local departments, our county, I couldn’t be any more proud of them. And, you know, we are part of them,” said  Chief Ron Hoffman. “Everybody did what they’ve been trained to do.”

Vienna Fire Protection District (VPFD) received notification at 12:53 a.m. and responded with a ladder truck, a tanker truck, and seven firefighters.

LFPD and VPFD set up ladder trucks with aerial apparatuses, and ground crews from multiple departments used hoses in a joint effort to put out the fire. 

In the early hours of the morning, public water sources in Freeburg and Westphalia were depleted. Firefighters took as much water as they could from Quaker Windows, after which they were forced to find other sources.

Wieberg Red-E-Mix provided six concrete trucks, which hauled 10 loads of water (approximately 25,000 gallons total) from their Meta and Vichy plants. Osage Industries assisted Wieberg in carrying two loads.

“We kind of used up all the water in southern Osage County,” Hoffman said, “so we had to go out farther.”

Belle Fire staged at the Rollins Ferry Access to pull water from the Gasconade River. LFPD crews set up at the Mari-Osa Campgrounds on the daylight side of the Osage River.

Engines at those locations filled tanker after tanker, carrying water from the rivers to the fire. Throughout the morning, nine tankers worked to ensure a continuous water supply to crews on the scene.

“Through the course of the day, our tanker made 19 trips to the scene,” said VFPD volunteer Mark Buschmann. “That’s just one truck. You can imagine how much water got put on that fire.”

“(Our) little tanker carried 25 loads,” Hoffman added.

Iven called the Division of Public Service for assistance. The Division of Fire Safety Mutual Aid Coordinator worked with Region F Fire Mutual Aid to arrange assistance.

“They put out a message to any departments in the area saying if they had any spare tankers and personnel to respond to the scene,” said Iven. “I think it took about two hours to get them here, but initially, I had to delay them just a little bit because I couldn’t get an established water source. We almost pumped Freeburg dry, and we were pulling a lot of water from Vienna. We were getting what we could from the towers at Rich Fountain and Westphalia. That’s when I made the call for Belle to go to Rollins Ferry to pull out of the Gasconade.”

The tanker strike team, consisting of trucks from Iberia, Gravois Mills, Mid County, Lake Ozark, Sunrise Beach, Eldon, and Moreau, arrived around 12:30 p.m. to provide aid. Due to its proximity, the truck from Iberia was dispatched directly to the scene and arrived earlier.

“I never lost water once, and I’m on a 1,500 GPM aerial,” said Hoffman, whose truck pumped almost continuously for 15.5 hours. “Argyle was my team. We had three folding tanks set up, just the way we’ve practiced.”

Iven agreed. “This is why training is so important,” he said. “If you’re not prepared for this kind of situation, it can go bad very quickly.”

Iven added that while there were ponds and other bodies of water on local farms closer to Freeburg, it was not feasible to utilize them. “I was concerned that a truck would get stuck somewhere,” he said. “We could have gone to someone’s farm down along the river, but access in and out would have been difficult.”

All told, Iven estimated the fire required nearly one million gallons of water to extinguish.

Buschmann said Vienna’s role on the scene was to keep the upper side of the structure cooled to minimize the threat to Hilke’s nearby house.

“That truck has probably never been used that long in its life,” Buschmann said. “One time, it ran seven hours without stopping.”

Iven arranged the removal of all non-essential vehicles from the scene to protect property and keep the area clear for tankers and pumpers. Drop tanks were deployed and refilled as quickly as possible during the day.

Iven said crews initially left the scene at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday but returned to check for hotspots.

At about 9:30, Iven told Hilke that he needed to move debris to check for hot areas thoroughly. “Laron called Verslues Construction, and they sent an excavator to move things so we could see what we were dealing with,” said Iven. “We appreciate their help.”

One element of the firefighting experience that made Iven nervous was the lack of fuel in the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately, he was able to fill a truck locally, and Dickneite Oil Company delivered fuel throughout the day to ensure the trucks operated.

Crews from Maries Osage Ambulance District and Osage Ambulance District provided standby, but fortunately, none of the firefighters needed help.

A big part of that was training and having the right people in the right places to get the job done.

“The guys worked well with firefighters from other departments that responded as mutual aid, and many of them stayed most of the day,” said Iven. “Every other department that we called was more than happy to come and help. I mean, some of the guys stayed there until the end — from when they showed up to when we got home. It took everyone to accomplish the job, and I had chiefs who knew what they were doing and could delegate jobs. That’s a huge benefit.”

Iven’s appreciation goes beyond the firefighters on the scene, as many others helped in whatever way they could.

The Meta Fire Women’s Auxiliary was on the scene all day. “They had backpack coolers loaded down with water and Gatorade,” said Iven. “They walked around with packages of food. I mean, I’m really grateful for them. They really did an outstanding job and made sure we had what we needed to keep going. I can say thanks a million times, but it’s hard to name every individual that played a part. I feel gratitude for anyone who helped in any way.”

Hilke is very grateful for all the help from the community and industry colleagues. During the company’s 50-year history, Hilke’s Ice has provided ice for multiple natural disasters throughout the country, a fact in which Hilke takes great pride. Those friendships and good deeds stand him in good stead during his time of need.

Hilke’s Ice Company was founded in 1974 when Tom Howat of Modern Ice Equipment & Supply in Cincinnati, Ohio, sold John Hilke a 400-pound ice machine, an ice chest, a box of bags, and a scoop. John was driven to provide ice because there was none to be found for that year’s Holy Family Picnic.

At least one Hilke’s Ice truck was seen delivering ice shortly before 7 p.m. last Wednesday while fire crews were still on the scene, proving that, even in the midst of tragedy, Laron Hilke continues to deliver what his parents, John and Marie, started 50 years ago.