Sioux County, Iowa — One car caused two separate fire calls in two separate Sioux County fire districts on Monday.
According to Hull Fire Chief Ron Hoksbergen, the initial fire call went out about 7:05 p.m. near Van’s Implement on Highway 18 east of Hull. Hoksbergen says the call didn’t amount to much as the fire was out by the time they got there. He says those on the scene were under the impression that the fire was coming from the engine, and they had used a fire extinguisher to put it out. So, Hoksbergen says, the firefighters left the scene without spraying any water.
However, according to Boyden Fire Chief Chris Starkenburg, a tow operator picked up the car after the fire call and was en-route east with it, when he noticed it was on fire once again. He says the operator called 911 and the fire department was paged to 4070 Highway 18, just east of Boyden. He says they used water and foam to extinguish the fire. He says they used their thermal imaging camera to find and extinguish the hot spots. According to Starkenburg, the fire was started inside the heater box, and it caused some damage to the interior of the vehicle. He says fire crews were on the scene for about 30 minutes.
Inwood firefighters also had a small fire call on Monday. Fire Chief Troy Van Beek says someone was cleaning up cornstalks and damage from the storm when the fire got away from him. No injuries were reported, and the firefighters were only on the scene for fewer than ten minutes.
