George, Iowa — An electric panel at a feed mill was destroyed in a fire on Thursday, March 21, 2019, in George, and the fire chief says it could have been much worse.
According to George Fire Chief Bill Sprock, about 8:10 a.m., the George Fire Department was called to the report of a fire at the CFE Elevator feed mill in George, in the basement.
The chief says the fire was in an electrical panel in the mill room, and it had exploded. But, he says that due to the quick thinking of CFE employees, the fire was out by the time the firefighters arrived. He says the employees were running the mill when all of a sudden everything stopped and they smelled smoke. So they grabbed a fire extinguisher and they were able to put it out.
Sprock says no injuries were reported. He says firefighters made sure that everything was OK before they left.
He says the cause of the fire is undetermined.
Chief Sprock reports that the damage was limited to the electric panel, which was destroyed in the blaze.
He says the 15 firefighters who responded were on scene for about 15 minutes. He says the George Emergency Medical Service also responded to the scene.
