Child Playing With Matches Starts Fire

Hawarden, Iowa– A storage shed and its contents were damaged in a fire on Thursday, March 29, 2018, in Hawarden.

According to Hawarden Fire Chief Duane Schiefen, about 8:45 p.m., the Hawarden Fire Department was called to the report of an unknown fire. He says it was at 1712 Avenue F in Hawarden.

The chief says the fire department saw smoke and flames coming from the shed as they approached the scene. He says they used water to fight the fire.

Schiefen says no injuries were reported.

He says that the Ireton Fire Department gets paged to all structure fires in Hawarden through an agreement he calls “Auto Aid,” but he says when Hawarden firefighters got to the scene, they told Ireton they could turn around.

He says a boy admitted to playing with matches before the fire, which probably started the blaze. The chief says the family was attending church services when the fire was called in by a neighbor.

Chief Schiefen reports that there was moderate to extensive damage to the older 15 x 20-foot shed. He says the insurance company may decide it was a total loss, but that’s yet to be determined.

He says they used between 150 and 200 gallons of water to fight the fire, and the 29 firefighters and one student firefighter who responded were on scene for about an hour.

Schiefen says firefighters and parents need to remind children not to play with matches.

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