West Side Home Catches On Fire

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department responded to a structure fire located on the west side of town last evening.  The alarm came in at about 7:30 p.m. at 312 7th Avenue southwest.  When fire officials arrived on the scene, the backside of the home was engulfed.  Fire Chief Dave Schipper.

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(photo contributed)

When fire officials arrived on the scene, the doors were locked and a vehicle was parked in the driveway, and fire fighters were not certain if anyone was home at the time of the blaze.

 

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Fire officials searched the interior of the home and determined that no one was home at the time of the fire, and that the inside of the home had suffered only light smoke damage.  Schipper says since fire fighters were already at the fire station for their weekly training session, the response time was short.

 

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Schipper estimates nearly $3000 of damage occurred to the home.  He says several neighbors were using garden hoses and spraying water on the fire prior to the fire department’s arrival, helping to fight the fire.

 

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Schipper says the cause of the fire looks to be accidental, with the most probable cause for the fire was improperly discarded smoking materials. Cigarette butts in a plastic bucket located on the back deck of the home burnt through the plastic bucket and through the wood deck and landed on the ground below.  The Le Mars Fire Chief says debris consisting of dried leaves and twigs beneath the wood deck had ignited, causing the fire to spread quickly to the underside of the deck and up the rear of the home, burning the vinyl siding on the backside of the home.  Fire fighters were on the scene for about an hour.