Sutherland, Iowa — A barn was damaged in a fire on Saturday, April 11, 2020, in Sutherland.
According to Sutherland Fire Chief Mark Shriver, about 12:35 p.m., the Sutherland Fire Department was called to the report of a barn fire at 506 East Violet Street on the northeast corner of Sutherland.
The chief says he was headed into town for the call and saw flames on the roof of the barn above the silos. He says there is one part of the roof that has only wooden shingles, and that was the part on fire. The rest has a metal roof. He says they were able to get a couple of firefighters into the structure, up into a loft. They got a line up there and removed a part of the tin to get to the wood shingles underneath to make sure they weren’t on fire. He says they also were able to use a boom truck from Hicks Electric to get a view of the roof.
Shriver says no injuries were reported.
The fire department was assisted by the Calumet Fire Department. Shriver says the Hartley firefighters were called for more water, but he canceled that call when they had the fire under control.
He says the owners of the property had been burning yard trash north of there, and they’re pretty sure an ember from that fire landed on the wooden part of the roof.
Chief Shriver reports that the building is only used for storage as the owner is a local tire retailer.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about two hours.
