Fire damages embroidery business in Bollinger County

PATTON, Mo. -- A embroidery company in business in Bollinger County since 1988 burned early Friday.

About 25 firefighters from seven departments responded just after 2 a.m. to Stitch It International on Highway 72 near Patton, Marble Hill fire chief James Bollinger said.

Bollinger couldn't give a loss estimate, but said the 120-by-60-foot structure was heavily damaged.

When North Bollinger County Fire Rescue arrived on scene, the building was totally involved and the roof had caved in, chief Shane Welker said.

The building was unoccupied at the time, Bollinger said, and there were no injuries. He said firefighters "had a lot of ice we had to deal with and trucks freezing up on us." The temperature at Patton was 9 degrees, according to Accuweather.com.

Welker also said because of the weather, more men were called to assist with the fire.

No information was available on why or where the fire started, but the investigation continues.

Bollinger said firefighters and investigators, including agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were investigating the scene Friday afternoon.

The North Bollinger County Fire Protection District, Marble Hill Fire Department, Leopold Volunteer Fire Department, Glenallen Fire Protection District, Fredericktown Fire Department, Cherokee Pass Volunteer Fire Department and Biehle Fire Protection responded. Bollinger said about 25 firefighters fought the blaze with seven tankers.

Stitch It International was established by Brent McMinn and sells embroidery equipment nationally and internationally, according to the company's website. The staff includes in-house service technicians who refurbish the machines and provide technical support.

Calls and messages to Stitch It were not returned Friday afternoon. In a post on its Facebook page, the company said, "It has been a crazy day. Last night our warehouse/offices caught fire and burned to the ground. It was a total loss. Thank you to everyone that has already reached out to us, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. We are down, but we are not out. We apologize in advance for any disrupt in service over the next couple of weeks while we try to figure everything out."

Reporter Savanna Maue contributed some of the information to this story.

kwebster@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

Highway 72, Patton, Mo.