Rock Valley, Iowa — The Rock Valley Fire Department was called to an alarm at a bank building in Rock Valley on Thursday evening, about 6:30 p.m.
Rock Valley Fire officials say that the People’s Bank branch in Rock Valley experienced some smoke damage in the basement of the bank.
Fire Chief Brent Eshuis reports that the electricity had been out due to the storm, and when the power came back on, there must have been a surge in the electric panel in the basement. He says some wires melted, and caused light smoke in the building. He reports there was also some damage to ceiling tile.
Eshuis explains that the Hull Fire Department always comes to structure fire calls in Rock Valley, and they also called the Sioux Center Fire Department for their aerial truck, but they told the Sioux Center firefighters to turn around en route when Rock Valley firefighters got to the bank and saw what they were dealing with.
He says they used fire extinguishers to take care of the issue and ventilated the building. Mid-American Energy came to shut off the power. Eshuis says the 28 firefighters who responded were there for about two hours.
People’s Bank officials are thanking the firefighters from the Rock Valley and Hull Fire Departments for their quick response. They report that the damage is “very minimal and has been contained.”
