(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department responded to not one, but two separate house fires last evening in Brunsville. The first call came in at about 10:35 p.m. and the second was reported just a few minutes later. Both fires were separate incidents, but happening simultaneously. Fire Chief Dave Schipper explains what happened last evening.
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Schipper says the first fire was a rental property with the tenants not home at the time of the fire. There were no injuries. However, Schipper says the fire department had to conduct a search of the home to make certain nobody was inside.
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Schipper says the cause of the fire looks to be from an electrical source from the fuse and breaker panel.
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Schipper says the first home may have sustained more than $40,000 in damages, and he believes it may be listed as a total loss, depending upon the outcome of the insurance investigation. The second home sustained only minor damage to the outside siding, but it was also ruled to have been started by an electrical short.
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The Le Mars Fire Chief says the fire department was fortunate not to have equipment freeze due to the extreme cold sub-zero temperatures.
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Fire fighters were on the scene for the first house fire call for nearly three hours until 1:15 a.m. Both the Merrill and the Akron Fire Departments offered mutual aid to the fires.
