LAKE NORDEN, S.D.(KWAT)–“It was a very hard day.”

That’s how Lake Norden Mayor John Layman describes a fire that occurred exactly one year ago Friday at the town’s fire hall.

The early morning fire wiped out the building and destroyed four fire trucks and two ambulances, along with a lot of equipment that was inside.

Fire departments from Estelline, Hayti, Badger, Castlewood, and Bryant all responded, but weren’t able to save much. Layman explains why.

Layman was a city council member at the time of the fire. He says the local decision makers wasted no time in determining they had to rebuild.