Orange City, Iowa — An office building was damaged in a fire on Friday, July 26, 2019 in Orange City.
According to Orange City Fire Chief Denny Vander Wel, about 4:30 p.m., the Orange City Fire Department was called to the report of smoke in the basement at the Diamond Vogel Corporate Center in Orange City.
The chief says the fire department saw smoke in the basement when they arrived on the scene.
According to the chief, the building has an auxiliary cooling system, and the electrical panel for that system in the basement had some sort of issue such as a short. He says there was moderate to heavy smoke in the area. Vander Wel tells us that there was a lot of melted plastic, which caused the smoke.
Vander Wel says no injuries were reported, and the building was evacuated before firefighters arrived.
Chief Vander Wel reports that the fire damage was limited to the electric panel and an area above it, but there was some smoke damage throughout the 3-story building. He says they ventilated the building for about an hour after extinguishing the fire.
He tells us the fire department was assisted by the Alton, Sioux Center, and Le Mars fire departments.
He says around 40 firefighters were on the scene for about an hour and a half.
