Sibley, Iowa– A house was damaged in a fire on Thursday, November 10, 2016 in Sibley.
According to Sibley Fire Chief Ken Huls, at 5:11 PM, the Sibley Fire Department was called to the report of a possible structure fire at the home of Carol Hoffman at 509 Poplar Drive, in northwest Sibley. Huls says the property is owned by Judith Burnham of Bigelow, Minnesota. He reports that the fire call came from a neighbor who saw the smoke. He says a former firefighter checked the house and found no one was home, and that’s when 911 was called.
The chief says the fire department saw smoke coming out of the eaves as they approached the scene. He says they used an interior attack with water to fight the fire.
Huls says no injuries were reported. No one was in the home at the time of the fire.
The fire department was low on manpower so they requested assistance from the Ashton Fire Department.
He says the cause of the fire is undetermined but he says it appeared to have started with a garbage bag with debris in it. He says that fire burned a hole in the floor, which got into cabinetry and then followed the wall back up to the kitchen.
Chief Huls estimates that there was at least $10,000 damage.
He says they used 200 gallons of water to fight the fire, and crews were on scene for over an hour.
