Rock Rapids, Iowa — A machine shed and a tractor were damaged in a fire on Sunday, October 25, 2020, near Rock Rapids.
According to Rock Rapids Fire Chief Ed Reck, about 9:35 a.m., the Rock Rapids Fire Department was called to the report of a machine shed fire at 2656 130th Street, four miles west, two north, and a half west of Rock Rapids.
The chief says the fire department saw smoke and flames as they approached the scene. He says they used water to fight the fire. He tells us that the tractor had been hooked up to a feeder wagon, and they pulled the whole unit out (tractor and feeder wagon) with another tractor, while the first tractor was on fire.
Reck says no injuries were reported.
The fire department was assisted by the Lester Fire Department.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be a malfunction in the tractor. Reck says it may have been something to do with an engine block heater.
Chief Reck reports that there was substantial damage to both the tractor and the shed.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about an hour.
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The previous day, (Saturday) the Sioux Center Fire Department was paged to a round bale fire on a semi hauling bales just northeast of Sioux Center. Fire Chief David Van Holland reports that they arrived to find smoke and flames from the rear of the flatbed semi-trailer, and the cornstalk bales on fire as well. Van Holland tells us the trailer brakes got hot for whatever reason and that started the bale fire.
He says out of the roughly 30 bales on the trailer, about 27 of them were destroyed in the fire. The damage to the trailer was limited to the brakes and wheels, says Van Holland. He says they were on-scene for about a half an hour.
Photo courtesy Sara Delfs
