Sheldon, Iowa — A garage/shop and all its contents were destroyed in a fire on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, near Sheldon.
According to Sheldon Fire Assistant Chief Brad Hindt, about 10:55 a.m., the Sheldon Fire Company was called to the report of a structure fire at 3587 Monroe, which is about three miles south of Sheldon on Washington Avenue. He says the fire was reported by a neighbor that saw the smoke down the road from his place.
The assistant chief says the fire department saw a large amount of smoke as they left town, so they radioed for help from the Hospers Fire Department. He says they asked them to bring a tanker and manpower to the scene. When they got there, Sheldon firefighters found the building totally engulfed with fire. He tells us firefighters went into a defensive attack due to the building being totally engulfed and since the electricity was still on in the building, propane tanks were venting, live ammunition was exploding and the roof was falling in. Hindt says firefighters also cooled the outbuilding that was near the shop. The fire was under control in about 30 minutes. He says they asked for a backhoe from Sheldon Farmers Market to come out to the scene and remove the remaining walls and remove roofing metal to get at the remaining hot spots.
He tells us they used foam in addition to their water to fight the fire.
Hindt says no injuries were reported. He says the fire appears to have started on the west side of the building near a wood burner but the actual cause of the fire is undetermined.
Assistant Chief Hindt says that lost in the fire were a Chevy pickup truck, a Chevy Blazer, a boat, and a large number of shop tools. He says everything was a total loss.
According to Hindt, the O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office, Hospers Fire Department, Sheldon Community Ambulance Team, Northwest REC, and Sheldon Farmers Market assisted them on the scene.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about two and a half hours and were back in service at 2:30 p.m.
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Original story, posted December 7 at 12:39 p.m.:
Sheldon, Iowa — Sheldon firefighters were called to a building on fire at 3587 Monroe Avenue, which is about 3 miles south of Sheldon on Washington Avenue, shortly before 11:00 Tuesday morning.
While on their way to the fire, Sheldon firefighters called for mutual aid from the Hospers Fire Department for manpower and a tanker.
We’ll have more information when it becomes available.
Some images from the fire scene may be viewed below.
Above photo courtesy of the Sheldon Fire Company
Photos below: KIWA Staff photos
