Maurice, Iowa — Nearly 20 calves died in a fire on Saturday, November 7, 2020, near Maurice.
According to Maurice Fire Chief Jeff Vander Weide, about 2:50 p.m., the Maurice Fire Department was called to the report of a barn fire at 4717 Hickory Avenue — Maassen Dairy, two miles east of Maurice.
The chief says the fire department saw lots of smoke on arrival as they approached the scene, but the workers there had already started dumping dirt on the fire, which he said helped. He says the firefighters finished the job with water. He tells us that the fire was in bedding both inside and outside of the calf barn.
Vander Weide says 17-18 calves died as a result of the fire.
The fire department was assisted by Orange City and Alton firefighters.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be that one of the workers had been cutting bolts and a spark got into the bedding. They thought they had the fire out, but came back to find the bedding ablaze.
Chief Vander Weide reports that besides the loss of the calves and the bedding there was not much damage, as the structure appeared to be fine, with just some char on the posts of the building.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for an hour to an hour and a half.
