Sheldon, Iowa — A rural Sheldon barn was lost in a fire early on Thursday morning.
Sheldon Fire Company Chief Brad Hindt says that at about 10 minutes before 6:00 a.m., firefighters were paged to 4421 320th Street for a barn on fire. While enroute to the address, which is about two miles west of Northwest Iowa Community College on Highway 18, firefighters noted that the fire could be seen from the edge of town.
When they got there, firefighters found the barn fully engulfed in fire. Chief Hindt says the first group of firefighters went on a defensive attack with handlines on the barn. A second group focused on checking the nearby house and other outbuildings for fire, since the wind was blowing the embers over the house and outbuildings.
Firefighters used about 7500 gallons of water. Highway 18 was rerouted during the firefighting activities.
The chief says the barn is a total loss. Also lost in the fire were a pickup and a skid loader.
Hindt says the cause of the fire was most likely an ember from a burn pile.
There were no injuries to people or livestock.
Hindt says that about 30 firefighters responded to the call.
Personnel from the Boyden and Matlock fire departments, Sheldon Emergency Management, the Sheldon Community Ambulance Team (SCAT), the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, Sioux and O’Brien County Emergency Management, Northwest REC, and O’Brien County Communication Center assisted Sheldon firefighters.
He says Sheldon Fire was back in service at 9:00 a.m. The call was actually the second call of the overnight period, with the first being a false alarm at Village Northwest Unlimited at about 2:20 a.m.
KIWA Staff Photo
