Authorities in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, are searching for the cause of a massive fire that took out a 100-year-old building and destroyed three businesses.

“Between the wind and the smoke, it was hard to see anything but the top of the building,” recalled Jordanne Myszka-Schilling, whose boyfriend owns the Agonic Brewing Company inside. “You could see the flames, and it would not go out. “

The blaze, according to fire investigators, broke out around 3:40 Thursday afternoon.

Witnesses say the smoke could be seen for miles as the flames, fanned by high winds and fueled by the wood interior of the 100-year-old building, burned for hours.  

“Unfortunately, the fire started on the upwind side, so it appeared to blow straight through the building,” says Patrick Kelly, owner of Cheese Louise Sandwiches.

Kelly says he was inside the building, doing his midday prep, and sensed something was wrong.

Moments later, he was fleeing for his life.

“I smelled smoke, so I eventually peaked my head outside and saw the outside of the building deck had been on fire,” he says.

It would take fifty firefighters more than three hours to bring the blaze under control.

Fire crews pumped up to a million gallons of water from hydrants and the lake nearby.  

Investigators tell 5 Eyewitness News the blaze started on an exterior deck and spread very quickly.

So far, no official cause has been determined.

Three businesses inside the structure— the sandwich shop, a brewery, and a bathroom remodeling store, are all gone.

One firefighter suffered an injury to his arm, but there’s relief there were no serious injuries.

“Just really taking it minute by minute,” Myszka-Schilling says. “Just getting through the initial shock and kind of leaning on each other and being there for each other.”

At the scene, a leaking gas line and fallen power lines are scattered among the charred debris.

Authorities say the gas added to the fire, but that neither were the cause of all the destruction.

“With the circumstances, with the gas and how it got up to the second story immediately, unfortunately it didn’t matter what we did,” says Captain Dave Putnam, with the Rice Lake Fire Department. “All we could do was protect the surrounding buildings.”

Now the cleanup begins and a search for answers.

Some are vowing to rebuild.

“These businesses have been labors of love for both myself, the brewery and the wood shop, it’s been here forever,”  Kelly declares. “We’ll do what we can to come back. We have a strong community.”