New Ulm Fire Department (NUFD) received a fire call at 4:21 a.m. Wednesday morning. Assistant Fire Chief Aaron Wilfahrt said when they arrived on site there was heavy smoke coming off the roof of the mall.

Wilfahrt said the fire was very challenging to fight because NUFD did not initially know the origin of the fire. The smoke was billowing out of the entire Marktplatz roofline.

NUFD first attempted to entered the building from the main entrance facing Minnesota Street, but noticed the glass windows were covered with soot with heat coming from behind the door. A service entry door to the north of the main entrance had even more intense heat behind it. It was determined this was the origin source of the fire. The fire had started in a former storefront immediately north of Marktplatz front entrance.

Wilfahrt said the store was fully engulfed by the fire. Firefighters were able extinguish the fire within 90 minutes and contain it to the northwest section of the mall. The entire mall sustained smoke damaged. Some of buildings adjacent to the mall experienced infiltration and required ventilation, but no injuries were reported.

New Ulm Fire Department responded to a fire early Wednesday morning at Marktplatz Mall. Smoke could seen billowing out of the roof the former mall. Photo by Nate Sperl

Sleepy Eye and Courtland Fire Departments provided assistance in extinguishing the fire.

Marktplatz Mall has been closed as a retail space since 2018 after the Herberger’s store was liquidated. The building has sat empty for nearly six years.

In April 2020, EBMD LLC purchased two of the three mall parcels. In Sept. 2023, the city of New Ulm approved the sale of the final center section of Marktplatz mall to EBMD LLC. With the entire building owned by one entity, development talks began. EBMD LLC expressed interest in redeveloping the mall for workforce housing.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown. The State Fire Marshal will be conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire.

The interior Marktplatz mall’s main entrance was covered in soot when New Ulm fighters initially tried to enter the building. The source of the fire was discovered to the north of the main entrance in a former storefront. The fire was contained to the northwestern section of the building, the entire building sustained heavy smoke damage.