Matlock, Iowa — A hog confinement was damaged in a fire on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, near Matlock.
According to Matlock Fire Chief Bruce Stegeman, about 1:30 p.m., the Matlock Fire Department was called to the report of a hog confinement on fire at 2710 Kiwi Avenue, one mile west and a mile north of Matlock.
The chief says the fire department saw smoke coming from the building and flames through windows as they approached the scene. He says that since the building was made of plastic with plastic floors melting, they could not mount an interior attack, and had to fight the fire through openings, including windows, a fan hole, and through the doors. He says they used lots of foam, cut a hole in the roof for venting and even fought the fire from the roof for a time.
Stegeman says no injuries were reported. He says there were no pigs in the confinement at the time, but they were supposed to get some the next day.
The fire department was assisted by the Boyden and Sheldon firefighters.
He says the cause of the fire is undetermined.
Chief Stegeman reports that there was extensive damage. He says there is a firewall, so flames didn’t extend into the other half of the building, but he says there is extensive smoke and heat damage in the other half as the pit extends the length of the building.
Stegeman says the 20 to 25 firefighters who responded were on the scene for three and a half hours the first time, but they were called out again in the evening and used an excavator to tear down the half of the building that had the fire and eliminate the possibility of flare-ups. The second time they were out for about two and a half hours, according to Stegeman.
Photo courtesy Matlock Fire Department
