Larchwood, Iowa — A barn was destroyed and a combine was damaged in two recent Larchwood fire calls.
The combine was damaged in a fire on Thursday, October 17, 2019, near Larchwood.
According to Larchwood Fire Chief Tony DeSmet, about 3:15 p.m, the Larchwood Fire Department was called to the report of a combine fire about six miles southwest of Larchwood.
The chief says by the time they got there, the combine operator had the fire mostly out. He says the operator thinks the cause was electrical in nature.
DeSmet says no injuries were reported.
Chief DeSmet reports that there was moderate damage.
He says the 8 to 10 firefighters who responded were on the scene about an hour.
Then, a couple of days later — on Saturday — the Larchwood firefighters were paged to a barn fire at 1755 100th Street, which is about three miles north of Larchwood and a half a mile west, on the state line road.
The call came in a few minutes before 11 p.m. Firefighters from Lester and Hills were also called to help extinguish the blaze.
According to Larchwood Assistant Fire Chief Deric Kruse, the barn was on the ground when firefighters arrived. He says the cause of the fire is undetermined. No injuries were reported, but the building was a total loss.
According to Kruse, the 25 to 30 firefighters who responded from the three towns were on the scene for about an hour and a half.
