Sheldon, Iowa — For the second time in eight days, firefighters in the Sheldon area were sent to the Sheldon Hull Coop Feed Mill on West 8th Street in Sheldon. Firefighters were sent there on July 31st and again this past Friday.
Sheldon Fire Chief Brad Hindt says a call came in about 7:25 p.m. about a cooler fire. When firefighters got there, they met an employee of the plant, who advised that there was a smoldering fire in the pellet cooler. Two firefighters and the plant employee entered the plant to investigate and found pellets smoldering in the cooler as the fire suppression system kept the fire contained to the cooler.
During a second inspection of the cooler, flames were found in the cooler. At that point, Sanborn and Hospers Fire Departments were called for manpower, says Hindt. He says a coordinated fire attack plan was set up with the help of plant employees. Two groups of firefighters entered the building. One crew went to the basement to monitor the cooler while the second crew applied water to the top of the cooler on the main floor to extinguish the fire and cool the pellets. Firefighters and plant employees monitored the cooler for the next couple of hours until the temperatures in the cooler dropped to normal.
Hindt tells us this was a different cooler then the fire on July 31st. The Friday fire was isolated to just the cooler. He says the cause of the fire is under investigation.
No injuries were reported.
In total, 29 firefighters responded to the fire. Sheldon Fire was assisted by the Sanborn and Hospers Fire departments, the Sheldon Community Ambulance Team, the Sheldon Police Department, and the O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheldon Fire Company was back in service at 10:30 p.m.
Picture is from the FIRST fire call on July 31st, 2025. KIWA Staff Photo
