Sheldon, Iowa — The Sheldon Fire Company responded to two separate fire calls on Sunday.
A car was destroyed in a fire near Sheldon. According to Sheldon Fire Chief Brad Hindt, at about 10:40 p.m., the Sheldon Fire Company was called to the report of a car fire about a half a mile south of the McKinley Avenue exit on Highway 60.
When they got there, the chief says the fire department saw the vehicle totally engulfed in flames. He says they used water and foam to fight the fire. Hindt says one person was transported from the scene to Sanford Sheldon Hospital, but he believes that was not related to the fire.
He says the cause of the fire is undetermined, but it started in the engine compartment. He says the driver told him they were going down the road and smelled something, and then flames started shooting out under the hood.
Chief Hindt reports that the damage to the SUV was total.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about an hour.
Earlier Sunday evening, a few minutes before 5:00 p,m. firefighters reported to the fire station for the report of a fire alarm going off at Northwest Iowa Community College’s Cherokee Hall, and unlike most fire alarms, it wasn’t a false alarm; there was actually an emergency.
Hindt says when they got there, the fire alarm panel said there was smoke in the laundry room. He says firefighters noticed it smelled hot when they were walking toward the laundry room, and when they opened the door, the room was full of smoke.
He says they used positive-pressure fans to vent the hallway and suck all the air out. He says the smoke was caused by an overloaded washing machine. The belt burned up. He says there was really no damage to speak of except that the washing machine will require repair.
He says they were there for about 45 minutes.
KIWA Staff Photo
