Hawarden, Iowa — Five thousand hogs and two hog confinements were destroyed in a fire fought by nine fire departments on Saturday, May 28, 2016 near Hawarden.
According to Hawarden Fire Chief Jon Strong, about 8:46 AM, the Hawarden Fire Department was called to the report of structure fire at 1825 470th Street, about three miles southeast of Hawarden.
The chief says the fire department saw the building was completely engulfed by fire as they arrived. As a result of heavy fire from the first building, a second building also caught fire.
Strong says no injuries were reported.
The fire department was assisted by the Ireton, Maurice, Orange City, Rock Valley, Sioux Center, Akron, Alcester, and Hudson fire departments, and personnel from the Hawarden, Ireton and Sioux Center ambulance squads, as well as the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, the Hawarden Police Department, and the Iowa State Patrol.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be a heat lamp, which is believed to have been dislodged by a pig, and fell on straw bedding.
Chief Strong says both buildings and all 5000 pigs were destroyed.
He says the fire remains under his investigation and is also being investigated by the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office.
Click here for a video that the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office posted on their Facebook page
