Orange City, Iowa– A car was destroyed in a fire on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 near Orange City.
According to Orange City Fire Chief Denny Vander Wel, just before 4:00 p.m., the Orange City Fire Department was called to the report of a vehicle on fire on a driveway at 3555 420th Street, two miles north and a mile and a half west of Orange City.
The chief says the fire department saw mainly the engine compartment fully involved in flame, with some extension to the passenger compartment as they approached the scene. He says they used water from an inch and three-quarter line. He said they forced the hood open to fight the fire.
Vander Wel says no injuries were reported.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be electrical in nature and was probably an electrical short near the battery. He says the driver reported that when they left the vehicle it smelled hot, but didn’t appear to be concerning at the time.
Chief Vander Wel reports that the vehicle was totaled.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for between a half hour and 45 minutes.
About 40 minutes before that — at about 3:20 p.m., the Primghar Fire Department was called to a ditch fire. Fire Chief Gary Lansink says the fire at 400th Street and Sorrel Avenue involved just a small portion of the ditch a mile south and a mile east of Primghar. He says the cause of the fire is undetermined. Firefighters put out the fire and were on the scene for about 20 minutes, according to Lansink.
