Sibley, Iowa — Fire destroyed an outbuilding on a farm southwest of Sibley late Thursday night.
Sibley Fire Chief Ken Huls says his department was paged for a fire in a shed behind a house at an address on Oak Hill Avenue about 10:35 Thursday night. Chief Huls says when fire crews arrived on scene they discovered an approximately 70-foot long lean-to shed with its roof fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze fairly quickly, Huls says, but since the building contained several round bales of hay, fire crews spent a significant amount of time making sure all of the hot spots were extinguished.
In addition to the hay bales, the building also contained a 1980’s vintage Ford pickup and other items. Huls says the building and its contents were a total loss in the blaze.
According to Huls, the farm’s resident had been conducting a controlled burn earlier and left when he thought the fire was completely out. Huls says apparently the winds caused a flare-up, with embers blown onto the roof of the shed, igniting the fire.
No injuries were reported and the Chief says firefighters were on scene for about an hour and a half.
