Sheldon, Iowa — The Sheldon Fire Company responded to two separate fire calls Thursday.
According to Sheldon Assistant Fire Chief Brad Hindt, the first call came in shortly before 11:15 Thursday morning, for a skid loader on fire at 4772 280th Street, which is about a mile-and-a-half west of Ritter. While enroute, Hindt says firefighters were told the fire was one-quarter mile north of 280th Street, on Monroe Avenue, which is a gravel road.
When firefighters arrived, they found the cab and engine compartment of a telehandler on fire. Hindt says the farmer had just finished stacking hay bales in the field and was returning home when the fire started in the engine compartment. He says it most likely started from corn stalks in the engine compartment of the machine.
The telehandler was described as a total loss. Hindt says his department was back in service at 12:30 Thursday afternoon.
Sheldon Fire was assisted at the scene by the O’Brien County Sheriff’s office.
Then, shortly after 5:30 Thursday evening, Sheldon firefighters were called back to 4656 280th Street to the scene of a fire that had destroyed an old barn on Wednesday afternoon. Assistant Chief Hindt tells KIWA that a passerby observed piles of hay smoldering, and called in the report. Hindt says the owner of the property wanted the piles left burning, so the fire department just did what he termed a “drive by.”
Here are a couple of images from Thursday’s telehandler fire. Photos courtesy of the Sheldon Fire Company…………..
