Le Mars, Iowa — Orange City firefighters were among those who assisted with the response to a fire in Le Mars on Saturday, in which one person was burned.
According to Le Mars Fire Chief David Schipper, the fire was at 620 Greenwood Avenue. He says when they got there, firefighters found a one-story duplex with heavy smoke showing from the north side of the structure. He says a male who had been burned was in the front
yard of the duplex. Aid was immediately rendered to the individual. Shipper tells us he was transported by Le Mars Ambulance to Floyd Valley Healthcare.
As for the fire, Schipper says firefighters made an aggressive interior attack and knocked the fire down quickly in the front unit of the duplex. The second unit of the duplex was checked by firefighters but was found to be unoccupied as the person who lived there was out of town, according to Schipper.
He tells us the entire building was ventilated of smoke and overhaul was performed to make sure the fire was completely out. That’s the part of the effort that the Orange City Firefighters helped with the most.
Schipper says the cause of the fire was accidental in nature, and was probably a cooking incident with a flash fire that ignited nearby
combustibles and burnt the person. He says it was good news to hear that, “the boy will be okay.”
Firefighters from Le Mars and Orange City were on scene for over an hour. Schipper tells us that damage is estimated at over $20,000, and that unit #1 of the duplex is not able to be occupied due to the damage.
