Rock Valley, Iowa — The Rock Valley Fire Department was called out for a fire on Monday, November 23, 2020, near Rock Valley.
According to Rock Valley Fire Chief Brent Eshuis, about 5:45 p.m., the Rock Valley Fire Department was called to the report of a shop fire at 3278 Elmwood Avenue, about a mile south of Rock Valley.
The chief says the fire department saw a small fire on the roof with a little on the north wall as well as they approached the scene.
He says the fire was on the outside of a run-down old building. He tells us there was a wire from an electric pole right by the building, which went through some trees. He says the tree branches had been rubbing the wire for quite some time and finally wore through. He says sparks from the short circuit landed on the shop’s old wood roof and started the fire.
Eshuis says no injuries were reported.
He says the Hull fire department always responds to structure fire calls in Rock Valley’s district, along with Rock Valley firefighters, plus, he had asked for the Sioux Center Fire Department to respond as well, before he knew what they were dealing with. But once they saw that it was a small fire, he says he told both other communities’ firefighters that they could disregard the call.
Chief Eshuis reports that there was minimal damage to the building, which he says is still standing.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about half an hour.
