A look at the scene following a fire at El Rey Market on Dec. 23, 2025. Allison Ullmann/Raccoon Valley Radio

A late night structure fire on Monday in Perry resulted in the total loss of a business.

According to Perry Fire Chief Grason Hill, fire and law enforcement entities responded to the structure fire at 10 p.m. Monday at El Rey Market, 210 Willis Avenue, on the west end of Perry.

Hill says he was paged out at 10 p.m. and he arrived around three minutes later. Hill adds he was the first one on scene, followed shortly by two Perry fire trucks. 

Hill details that firefighters knocked down the fire the best they could through an initial water attack. He adds that the roof collapsed shortly after he arrived on the scene and the department worked with Scott Hughes, with Hughes Excavation, to remove metal rafters and knock down walls. 

Hill explains that firefighters were on the scene for seven hours battling the blaze using an exterior approach. Firefighters headed back the next day to put out around five hotspots.

Hill says no one from any of the fire departments were injured and no one was in El Rey Market when the fire call came in after the business closed for the night around 9 p.m.

The structure is a total loss and Hill says that after talking with the state fire marshal, the cause of the fire will be listed as undetermined as there is no structure left to investigate. 

He thanks the fire and law enforcement agencies who assisted with the structure fire.

“With all of the firefighters we had, everybody did an awesome job working together and the Perry Fire Department can’t thank Bouton and Minburn and Scott Hughes for all of their help last night.”

Among the agencies that responded include the Bouton, Minburn and Perry Fire Departments and Perry Police Department.