People pick up the pieces after a fire destroys storage units

Fire at Edwards Mini Storage in La Crosse destroyed more than a dozen storage units

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — Several people are picking up the pieces,  a fire at Edwards Mini Storage in La Crosse destroyed more than a dozen storage units.

Firefighters from three different departments fought the blaze that broke out at around 11 a.m. Tuesday.

While there were no injuries, one woman who was renting storage space saidthe fire took away some priceless belongings.

On Wednesday renter Traci Schaitel Pierzina began salvaging what was left by a fire that scorched her storage unit. She lost things that her young son once cherished.

“Favorite stuffed animals, they’re gone,” Pierzina said.

But out of the 16 units the fire hit, she said she was better off than most.

“The walls are down, things are melted, and look at how charred they are by other units, mine seems to be guarded,” Pierzina said.

Protecting the things she could’ve never replaced- snapshots of moments she shared with her dad who is no longer with her.

“These are pictures of me and my dad for Father’s Day, paper and it made it through it,” Pierzina said.

She said she knows someone was looking out for her because the things she wanted the most are still here.

“I don’t think there is any question, coincidences are just too big,” Pierzina said. “How is my unit in the center yet it survived better than any of the other units? The things that I needed and want to keep from my dad are still here.”

A person of interest was taken into custody related to the fire. They were brought in on suspicion of unlawful use of burning materials, and questioned by the Shelby Police Department.