Rochester Gym Gives Unfortunate Update After Fire

In mid-April, members of WIP Fitness in Rochester, Minnesota were notified that the gym had caught fire. Thankfully, no one had been in the building, but the damage had been done.

In the months following, unfortunately, things moved quite slowly when it came to figuring out how the fire started and getting more answers. Now, we have a little bit more clarity on the situation.

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Fire at WIP Fitness in Rochester, MN

Early on Monday, April 14th, the fire broke out at WIP Fitness. Like I said, no one was in the building, but emergency responders got there quickly to put out the flames.

Members of WIP Fitness were notified via email of the fire, saying that classes and memberships are on hold. They also shared a video of photos of the damage on their Facebook.

On May 8th, WIP Fitness finally learned some more information about the fire and relayed that information to members.

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In an email, they said that the fire appears to have come from the furnace, but they weren't sure if it was an electrical issue or an internal failure.

In that same email, they write:

This investigation is taking longer than expected, and we understand how frustraiting the uncetainty can be.

The latest update came today, June 26th, with an unfortunate update.

What Will Happen to WIP Fitness in Rochester?

The email to members shares that it was (finally) officially determined that the fire originated from the furnace. However, the bad news is that the inspection also revealed that there was significant structural damage to the building.

The owner, Allen, writes:

While nothing is officailly onfirmed yet, it appears likely that the building will be demolished due to the extent of the damage.

That's so sad! I know that a ton of work went into making that the perfect space for WIP Fitness. Their back changing and showering area had just recently been finished when the fire happened. And now it may all get torn down...

The email also mentions that they are looking for a new place to call home and "start fresh", as Allen put it.

Possible silver lining: maybe they'll be able to make a comeback sooner since they don't have to wait on fixing up the old location?