Sheldon, Iowa — Sheldon firefighters were called out to extinguish a fire at Kent Feeds late Tuesday night.
According to Sheldon Fire Chief Brad Hindt, shortly after 11:10 p.m., they were paged to 1500 RMT Avenue — Kent Feeds — for a report of a cooler fire.
He says when the firefighters arrived, they found smoke in the production area of the plant. Firefighters found a cooler on the second floor that was on fire. Hindt explains that the cooler (a steel bin) is part of the production process. He says that after the pellet is made, it falls through the air cooler before being sent to a storage bin. The chief says the fire was contained to the cooler (bin) and the exhaust system.
He tells us firefighters advanced a fire hose to the second floor inside the plant and knocked down the fire in the metal bin. Once the fire was knocked down, firefighters began to take apart the bin and the exhaust system to gain access to check for hot spots. They removed the lower panels on the main floor once that was opened. Firefighters used a hydraulic spreader on the second floor to open the dampers that were closed when the system shut down. The burnt pellets were removed on the main floor and hauled outside the building.
Chief Hindt says the damage was confined to the pellet machine and the exhaust system. He says the cause of the fire is undetermined.
The Sheldon Fire Company responded with 21 firefighters and used about 500 gallons of water. He says the Sheldon Police Department assisted them. Firefighters were back in service after about three hours and 20 minutes — about 2:30 a.m.
KIWA Staff Photo
