Investigation of major fire on edge of downtown Fargo could take weeks

FARGO — An investigation into a weekend blaze that heavily damaged a building complex on the edge of downtown Fargo could take at least two weeks, according to Ryan Erickson, fire marshal with the Fargo Fire Department.

After the fire was reported about 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, fire crews from Fargo and Moorhead battled the blaze for several hours.

The Fargo Fire Department lists the address of the fire as 1418 First Ave. N., though the property appears to be part of a complex of buildings, including one that has an address of 1420 First Ave. N.

Gary Reinhart, owner of the properties involved, said on Monday that the complex contained antiques and he was waiting to meet with an insurance adjuster to determine the extent of losses.

Reinhart, who said he has been an auctioneer in the area for 40 years, said he may have more to say later this week after he determines more about what happened and what was damaged.

Part of the building complex was formerly occupied by a business called Woodchuck Furniture Restoration, which closed sometime between the fall of 2019 and early summer 2020, when the North Dakota Attorney General's Office filed a civil suit in Cass County District Court accusing the operator of the now-closed furniture repair shop of consumer fraud.

According to the suit, Nathanial Warren engaged in deceptive acts as the operator of Woodchuck Furniture, which Warren began operating in 2014 following the death of his father, Leroy, who had worked at the furniture restoration business for decades before buying it in 2011, according to a 2014 Forum feature story about the business.

Named in the lawsuit were several people who were never able to get their furniture back from the shop after bringing it in for repairs.

In the 2014 Forum feature story about Woodchuck Furniture, Nathanial Warren said that owning the business had been his father's dream and he said he didn't see himself as the proprietor of a restoration operation.

"It was his baby, and I came to help him with it. Then he passed away, so here I am. I can't see giving up on it," Warren said, adding that he put in about 80 hours a week.

At the time, Warren said the shop had a four-month backlog of work.

This past October, the court awarded judgments to former customers of the furniture repair shop totaling more than $21,000.

Starting many years ago, large, mysterious statues began showing up on the grounds around the buildings that were damaged in last weekend's fire.

Contacted several times, Reinhart declined to be interviewed about the statues or why he was collecting them.

In early 2015, a house owned by Reinhart located at 1411 First Ave. N., in Fargo, attracted attention and complaints from neighbors after it was defaced with a swastika and racist slogans.

By July of 2015, the city was telling Reinhart to demolish the house, which the city considered a safety hazard due to fire damage.

In September of that year, lawyers for the city and for Reinhart said a city-imposed demolition would be averted because Reinhart planned to sell the house to someone who intended to raze it.

However, the private deal fell through, and the city announced it would force the demolition of the house, which occurred in November of 2015.