Rock Valley, Iowa — A hog confinement building, some rabbits and some chicks were all destroyed in a fire on Monday, April 13, 2015 near Rock Valley.
According to Rock Valley Fire Chief John Wallenburg, about 2:45 AM, the Rock Valley Fire Department was called to the report of structure fire at 2610 300th Street, a mile east and a mile north of Rock Valley, on Galen Kats’ place.
The chief says the fire department arrived to find a fully engulfed building.
Wallenburg reports that along with the building, an undetermined number of rabbits and chicks were destroyed in the fire, but the building was not being used for hogs at the time of the fire.
He says the cause of the fire is undetermined. He said there were heat lamps in use for the chicks, but he said he did not know if they were the cause of the fire.
Chief Wallenburg reports that the building and its contents were totaled in the fire. He says what was left of the building fell into the empty manure pit under the building.
He says they used about 5000 gallons of water to fight the fire, and crews were on scene for about an hour and a half.
