Keeping downtown Anoka safe from fire

In a blast of flame and ash, the fire of 1884 in downtown Anoka leveled 86 buildings, weaving itself into the fabric of city folklore for generations to come. Now, city officials are making sure such a fire stays exactly that: history.

For the past year, several Anoka businesses in the historic downtown area have been collaborating with the city to install fire sprinkler systems to make sure the past doesn't repeat itself.

"We definitely have a history of fires in this city," said Bob Kirchner, community development director for the city.

In all, four blocks of historic buildings will be fitted with the sprinkler systems, which will cost about $1.3 million, said Jennifer Bergman, executive director of the Anoka Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA). Work on the first block was completed this month, and an additional block will be done each year.

At the time they were built in the late 1800s, they met the fire code of the time, Kirchner said, but over the course of the next century they have fallen behind standards.

"We have buildings now that are well below fire code and are actually at quite high risk too for fire, particularly if we don't catch it in the beginning," he said.

Already the fire suppression system has paid dividends. In October 2006, a fire broke out in a restaurant located in the basement of one of the older buildings.

The project, which is almost completely funded with a city grant, is just one part of a host of efforts aimed at cultivating downtown as a major selling point for Anoka.

Steve Jenson, whose family has owned and operated Jenson's Department Store on Main Street since 1938, said maintaining a building that predates the widespread use of electricity or air conditioning can be challenging at times.

"The consumers demand a modern shopping environment in these antique buildings," he said. "You have to remember that owning these old buildings too is a lot like owning an antique car; they need a lot of TLC."

Since 1989, the city had been renovating the exteriors of the buildings as part of a commercial rehab program, Kirchner said. The fire sprinklers are just a continuation of that revitalization theme.

"As a community, we've kind of bought into the idea that we have a unique historic niche here," he said.

"We're kind of the alter ego to that, the complement to it, and we want to play on that relationship," he said. "We are a small town that kind of looks like home to people."

Jenson couldn't agree more.

"We've already got a lot of history downtown, a lot of character," he said. "We don't need another fire to add to that."