Orange City, Iowa — Four farm buildings were damaged in a fire on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 near Orange City.
According to Orange City Fire Chief Denny Vander Wel, about 12:10 PM, the Orange City Fire Department was called to the report of a hog confinement on fire at 3282 450th Street, three and a half miles west of Orange City on Highway 10.
The chief says the fire department saw heavy fire as they approached the scene. They were able to put out the fire.
Vander Wel reports that there were no injuries to people, pets, or livestock.
He says the most probable cause of the fire appears to have been an electric short on a power pole.
Chief Vander Wel reports that there was 75,000 damage.
The chief says fire departments from Maurice, Sioux Center, and Alton provided mutual aid assistance at the scene, and because the large fire left no firefighters or equipment in Orange City, fire crews from Alton and Granville covered the Orange City Fire Station, and Le Mars fire crews stayed on standby at their station in Le Mars, especially with their aerial truck, should they be needed in Orange City.
He says crews were on scene until 1:40, or about an hour and a half.
In addition, Vander Wel says the Orange City Fire Department also responded to a tractor fire shortly after 10 AM earlier that day. It was at 3532 460th Street. The chief says the tractor was a total loss. The fire appears to have been caused by leaves and debris around the hot exhaust pipe. That call kept firefighters busy for about 50 minutes.
Chief Vander Wel says the little shot of rain we received has helped very little. It is still very dry and fires can start and spread quickly. A burning ban remains in effect in not only Sioux but also in Lyon and Osceola Counties.
