(KIWA Staff Photo)Sioux Center, Iowa — Three fire departments were called out to a fire scene on Sunday, September 6th, 2026, near Sioux Center.
According to Sioux Center Fire Chief David Van Holland, at about 8:05 p.m., the Sioux Center Fire Department was called to the report of smoke from a feed mill at 4195 US 75 Avenue, south of Sioux Center.
When they got there, the chief says the fire department saw a little smoke from a bin. He says they took the bin apart and tried to get as much material out as they could, but there were flare-ups. He says they shut down the electricity to the mill and drowned the bin and material with water, which put out the fire but made the product hard, so they had to cut it out with a chainsaw.
Van Holland says no injuries were reported, but they had a lot of tired firefighters when it was all done, and he estimated that between $20,000 and $30,000 of damage was done by the fire and the aftermath. He said it was going to take some work to clean up.
The fire department was assisted by the fire departments from Ireton and Orange City and the Sioux Center Ambulance Squad.
He says the cause of the fire appeared to be spontaneous combustion.
Van Holland says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for five and a half hours.
