Sanborn, Iowa — A garage and its contents were destroyed in a fire on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Sanborn.
According to Sanborn Fire Chief Randy Lyman, at about 6:00 p.m., the Sanborn Fire Department was called to the report of a house fire at 310 East 2nd Street in Sanborn.
When they got there, the chief says the fire department saw the garage fully engulfed in flame. He says they used hand lines, water, and foam to fight the fire.
Lyman says no injuries were reported.
He says they believe the fire happened because someone left a fire pit unattended.
Chief Lyman reports that there were a number of items being stored in the two-car garage, including everything from washing machines to lawn mowers, a fridge, and lots of other things. He says the garage — including an area that used to be a beauty shop — and all contents were totaled in the blaze. He tells us that while the garage was attached to the house via a breezeway, the flames did not reach the house, and there was only a little smoke in the house. The siding on a neighbor’s garage was also damaged, plus, the northeast wind carried sparks to a tree about a block away and started that on fire too.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about two hours the first time. They were called out again around 10:00 p.m. to put out trees that had reignited. The Sanborn Utilities crew helped by cutting the burning spots out of the tree.
Firefighters were assisted by the Sheldon Fire Company, the Sanborn Police Department, the O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sanborn Utility Department. Lyman says the Sheldon firefighters told him they could see the smoke all the way from the Sheldon Pizza Ranch when they were headed toward Sanborn.
KIWA Staff Photo
