Around 1:20 a.m. on April 21, 2005, fire ravaged Lumbermen’s, on Highway 89A in West Sedona.

The Sedona Fire District estimated the damage at $3 million and considered it the biggest loss from fire in Sedona in years.

SFD Fire Marshal William Loesche determined the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion. A gallon of linseed oil that spilled on cloth tarps was only partially cleaned up. The rest started evaporating and giving off its own heat, sparked to flames, destroying Lumbermen’s.

Around 1:20 a.m. on April 21, 2005, fire ravaged Lumbermen’s, on Highway 89A in West Sedona.

The Sedona Fire District estimated the damage at $3 million and considered it the biggest loss from fire in Sedona in years.

SFD Fire Marshal William Loesche determined the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion. A gallon of linseed oil that spilled on cloth tarps was only partially cleaned up. The rest started evaporating and giving off its own heat, sparked to flames, destroying Lumbermen’s.

Exactly four years from that date, ProBuild — Lumbermen’s new name since the ’05 fire — will be up and running in the same location.

On Friday, Oct. 3, ProBuild held a ground-breaking ceremony to begin the months of construction, scheduled to be complete in April 2009.

ProBuild is the nation’s largest supplier of building materials, with 550 locations in 40 states, ProBuild West Regional Vice President John Davis said.

ProBuild, owned by Fidelity Capital, bought Lumbermen’s in 2006, but is just getting around to the name change, Davis said.

By the end of October, all Arizona Lumbermen’s will go by the name ProBuild, but from a customer’s standpoint, nothing has changed, he said.

The new building, being built under general contractor Shrader & Martinez Construction, will be 25,000 square feet and be an updated version of what the store used to be, branch manager Mark Runyan said.

“It’s going to be a great contribution to this side of town from a perception standpoint,” Davis said, of the building that will “look like a Sedona business.”

Since the day the building burned down, Sedona residents have been asking if Lumbermen’s would rebuild.

Lumbermen’s didn’t own the building that burned. It was leasing at the time, Davis explained, so first Lumbermen’s had to buy the property. Shortly after, ProBuild bought Lumbermen’s and talk of rebuilding resumed.

Davis admitted that with the troubled economy, construction is down, but they’re looking at the long term, he said.

The store will have a strong showing of key products like cabinets and mill work, Runyan said, along with a wide variety of electrical, hardware, paint and yes, Davis said, a big lawn and garden department.

Lumbermen’s has continued as a lumber yard since the fire, and a smaller ProBuild store on Contractors Road has continued to sell retail, Runyan said. Customers are encouraged to continue using the Contractors Road store during construction.

“This business is good for the community,” Davis said. “When the new building comes, we’ll be adding 18 to 20 new jobs over and above what we have today.”

Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail

aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com.