Rock Valley, Iowa– A grain dryer was damaged and the corn inside was destroyed in a fire on Monday, October 17, 2022, in Rock Valley.
According to Rock Valley Fire Chief Brent Eshuis, at about 3:30 a.m., the Rock Valley Fire Department was called to the report of a grain dryer fire at the Cooperative Farmers Elevator in Rock Valley.
The chief says the fire department saw flames coming from the top of the dryer as they approached the scene. He says the employee drying corn had gone inside a building to check the corn’s moisture level and when he came back, the dryer was on fire. Eshuis says the fire department sprayed water from their deck gun, as did the Hull firefighters. He says they called for help from the Sioux Center Fire Department as well and asked them to bring their aerial truck as the flames were high up.
Eshuis says no injuries were reported.
He says the cause of the fire is undetermined, but this is the second time this year that they’ve been called out for a dryer fire in this dryer, which is nearly new. He says the first time was in January.
Chief Eshuis reports that there was major damage to the dryer and 4000 bushels of corn were lost. At today’s prices, that’s roughly $28,000 worth of corn.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for over three hours — until about 6:45 a.m.
