Rock Rapids, Iowa — A production building was damaged in a fire on Thursday, April 2, 2015 in Rock Rapids.
According to Rock Rapids Fire Chief Ed Reck, about 6:00 AM, the Rock Rapids Fire Department was called to the report of building fire at the Maintainer Custom Bodies building at 909 South East Street, on the city’s southeast side in the industrial park on K52.
The chief says the fire department saw flames under the eaves on the building’s north side, running halfway down the building as they approached the scene. He says they used water to fight the fire.
Reck reports that there were no injuries to people, pets, or livestock.
He says they needed to do extensive overhaul. Crews had to remove tin sheets to make sure the fire was out.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be construction activity the day before causing the wall to get hot, and it smoldered overnight and sparked to flame in the morning just before employees were coming to the scene to report for work.
Chief Reck reports that there was moderate to severe damage to the building.
He says they used less than 500 gallons water to fight the fire, and crews were on scene until about 8:00 AM, or about two hours. A burning ban remains in effect in not only Lyon but also in Sioux and Osceola Counties.
Reck says they did have another fire call the night before. That call was for a tractor on fire at the Lyon One livestock facility in the 2000 mile of Ibex Avenue. That’s about nine miles south of Rock Rapids and four east. The tractor had been pumping the manure lagoon and had burst into flames, he says. The tractor was a total loss.
