Rock Rapids, Iowa– A manufacturing plant was damaged in a fire on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 in Rock Rapids.
According to Rock Rapids Fire Chief Ed Reck, just before 6 a.m., the Rock Rapids Fire Department was called to the report of a fire at Maintainer Custom Bodies at 909 South East Street, on the south edge of town on K52. He says workers just showing up to work at the plant discovered the fire and called 911.
The Chief says the fire department saw significant smoke coming from the main roof vent as they approached the scene. But he says it looked worse than it was. He says the fire was pretty much contained to a 15 by 30-foot area where insulation in the rafters above the ceiling was on fire.
Reck says no injuries were reported.
He says some electrical work had been done the day before, and they think a spark from that work got into the insulation. He emphasized it was not an electrical fire, but theorized that a mechanical spark from the work was the culprit.
Chief Reck reports that there was moderate damage to the building. He said firefighters had to cut a 15 by 25-foot hole in the ceiling to vent the heat out and had to tear the ceiling down to get the fire out. He says those at the plant were quickly making arrangements to get the damage fixed due to the impending winter storm that’s supposed to arrive on Thursday.
He says they used between 100 and 150 gallons of water to fight the fire, and crews were on scene until 7:30 a.m.
