Nothing much recognizable. Joe Rud Trucking 525 Enterprise Lane. Gone are service garages, offices, transfer stations.
Horribly burned man airlifted to Madison
CALEDONIA, Minn – Fire leveled the Joe Rud long-distance trucking complex south of town. One man was airlifted 130 miles to the burn trauma unit at University of Wisconsin hospital in Madison. It was not known immediately if others were injured. The fire erupted about 8 p.m. It “exploded like a volcano — one fireball after another,” said one witness. Employees and others drove as many vehicles as they could, including 18-wheelers, out of the inferno. The burned man, James Taylor, 40, of Caledonia, was believed to be an employee. The cause of fire was not determined immediately. Nothing was left of the structures, mostly metal building, hat comprised the complex.
Gruesome spectacle, Off-shift employees watch helplessly from afar. Image: Jim Reed
Company profile
Jue Rud Truckking has a fleet of 30 trucks and is licensed to haul non-hazardous cargo. Records show the company’s tucks travel 2.5 million miles a year. The company, in Caledonia, population 2,800, is one one largest employers in Houston County in southeast Minnesota. There are 70-some employees.
