Hospers, Iowa — Sheldon firefighters were paged out Friday morning about 8:20 to a report of smoke in the upstairs of the house at 4835 380th Street, northeast of Hospers.
Assistant Sheldon Fire Chief Brad Hindt says that, on arrival, all occupants of the home were out, and the fire had totally engulfed the affected room. He says fire was also seen in the attic vent area. Hindt says the fire was being pushed back into the house by the strong northwest winds.
Hospers Fire was called for mutual aid with an Engine and tanker. One crew of fire fighters fought the fire through the window from the outside while another crew made an interior attack but were unable to make it up stairs due the heavy smoke conditions, according to Hindt. When the fire vented through the roof, firefighters went on a defensive attack. At that time Granville was called for a tanker and manpower and Sanborn Fire was called for manpower.
Hindt says once the fire was knocked down, firefighters made entry into the house and pulled ceiling down in the upstairs to get at the attic to put out the remining hotspots.
Hindt describes the house as a total loss and uninhabitable, with heavy fire damage to the roof and second floor as well as water damage. He says the cause of the fire appears to be in the area of an electric heater in the upstairs northwest corner of house.
No injuries occurred while on scene and a total of 46 firefighters were on scene for about 4 hours.
Sheldon Fire was assisted by the Hospers, Granville and Sanborn Fire Departments, Sheldon Community Ambulance team and O’Brien County EMA. Sheldon Fire was back in service at 2:15 Friday afternoon.
Photo courtesy of the Sheldon Fire Company
