Tea Fire Dept. responds to structure fire at Tea Exit

Just after noon on Wednesday, June 7, 2017 a call went out to area fire departments for a structure fire at Morton Court, which is at the Tea Exit. Tea Volunteer Fire Department responded as the flames rose from the top of the storage building for Thornton Flooring. The building is located directly north of TCF Composites, both buildings sit behind the Marlin's Family Restaurant/Cheap Shots Sports Grill.

Other fire departments on scene were Lennox, Worthing, Chancellor and Sioux Falls. South Dakota Highway Patrol was also on scene directing traffic.

Several employees of TCF Composites were sitting in the grass watching the scene unfold as they were unable to get back into the building.

One employee said, “We were on lunch and getting ready to head back in at noon and it lit up as we were getting ready to walk back in. My boss ended up calling 911.”

Another employee said that there were many flammable materials in their building, so the fire fighters were soaking the north side of the TCF Building in an effort to keep it cool.

At press time (Wednesday, 2:00 p.m.) the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage was unknown.