Primghar, Iowa — Both the Primghar Fire Chief and the O’Brien County Sheriff think that someone lit a fire that was reported on Sunday.
According to Primghar Fire Chief Gary Lansink, about 4:15 p.m., the Primghar Fire Department was called to the report of some house debris on fire at 240 Fourth Street Northeast, in Primghar. Lansink says the house had been pushed over and was just a pile of debris in the basement.
The chief says the fire department saw the debris fully engulfed as they approached the scene. He says after attempting to put it out, they just decided to let it burn, since it wasn’t of much value anyway. He says they did protect other nearby structures.
Lansink says no injuries were reported.
The fire department was assisted by Sanborn Fire Department.
He says the cause of the fire is suspicious, as there was no lighting that day and power had been disconnected from the property. He says they called the State Fire Marshal’s office, but since there were no extenuating circumstances and no insurance claim, they didn’t need to investigate it. Lansink tells us that the fire marshal’s office also thinks the fire was intentionally set, and they told them it was a matter for law enforcement.
O’Brien County Sheriff Allen Schuknecht says that they also believe that the cause of the fire is suspicious, that the matter is under investigation, and no charges have been filed.
Lansink says the firefighters who responded were on the scene four hours.
