Sibley, Iowa — A garage was destroyed and the adjacent house severely damaged in a midday blaze Thursday in Sibley.
Sibley Fire Chief Ken Huls says his department was paged at 12:23 Thursday afternoon for a structure fire at 508 5th Street. Huls says a passerby spotted the fire in the detached garage and alerted the residents of the adjacent home, assisting them in evacuating the house, then alerting residents in a neighboring house. Meanwhile, a neighbor behind the property happened to see the flames and smoke through a garage window and called 911.
When firefighters arrived on scene the garage was fully involved, and the exterior of the home was burning, as well. Huls says Sibley firefighters immediately called for Mutual Aid assistance from the Ashton and Little Rock Fire Departments to assist in battling the flames.
Firefighters had the fire pretty well under control within about 20 minutes of their arrival, according to Chief Huls. He says fire crews were on scene for about two hours, and were called back around 5:30 Thursday afternoon to extinguish some hot spots.
He says the garage door was open at the time of the blaze, and there were no vehicles parked inside the single-stall structure. The garage and its contents, according to Huls, is a total loss, and is pretty much burned to the ground. He says the adjacent residence has severe exterior fire damage to the siding, soffit, roof and interior of the attic, in addition to smoke damage. He estimates damage to be at least $100,000. In addition, Chief Hulls says there was some cosmetic damage to a neighboring house as a result of the fire.
The Chief says that, while an electrical issue is suspected of starting the fire, the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
A few images from the scene may be viewed below. Photos courtesy of the Sibley Fire Department.
