The owner of a St. Peter bowling alley destroyed by fire last month admitted to police he accidentally started it while repairing a pin setting machine.

Crews from three departments responded to the blaze that was reported about 7:30 a.m. February 16 at KingPins Bowling Center at 1671 S. 3rd St. Dwight Selders, the alley's owner, said he was working on a pin setter with a torch when he accidentally set a towel or cloth on fire, according to a search warrant filed this week in Nicollet County District Court. The towel was inside a plastic bucket that also contained other cloths with flammable material on them, he said.

Selders told Ron Rahman, an investigator with the State Fire Marshal's Office, that he panicked after the fire was set, the warrant states. He turned off the lights behind the pin setters as he left, and said he saw a towel on fire in the bucket. He walked by a fire extinguisher, he told Rahman.

Selders said there was a glow behind him as he retrieved his bag. He then turned off the lights near the pro shop area and saw the fire at the end of the lanes. He said he didn't know why he didn't do anything to stop the fire or call 911, the document said.

When he saw the fire had gotten out of control, Selders told Rahman that he left the building and locked the doors. He denied there was any accelerant used on the floor to assist the fire and denied that any fire was ever set on purpose, the court document said.

No charges have been filed in the case and the fire remains under investigation.

In the search warrant application, Rahman said the fire appeared to start by a single pin setting machine in the middle of the lanes. He tested the area several times and found the equipment indicated a significant level of an odor of an accelerant.

He found several canisters of flammable fluids behind the pin setter, which he believed were used to oil and maintain the bowling lanes, the warrant said. One of the cans was open at the time of the fire.

Originally built in 1962, the center, previously known as Sioux Trail Lanes and Bowlero Lanes, has 12 lanes of bowling with a bar and grill. It was renamed KingPins in 2011, according to its website.

When reached by phone Thursday, Selders, 47, of LeSueur, declined to comment.

David Chanen • 612-673-4465