(Terril)– A Terril apartment building has been completely destroyed by fire.
Firefighters were called to Terril Apartments at the corner of State Street and Main Street in downtown Terril around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Terril Fire Chief Tim Mathews says the blaze was already well underway when firefighters arrived, with a considerable amount of smoke and flames coming from the building.
Several people were in the building at the time the fire broke out. Mathews says they got out uninjured, but he believes a dog and a cat may have perished in the blaze.
It’s believed five people lived in the building. They are now homeless and without most of their possessions.
Mathews says the biggest challenge firefighters faced was a lack of water. He says they drained the town’s water tower in less than an hour.
Pumper and tanker trucks from the Superior, Arnolds Park/Okoboji, Milford, Spirit Lake, Fostoria and Wallingford Fire Departments helped haul water to the scene, and the ladder truck from the Spencer Fire Department also responded. Mathews says having that one piece of equipment helped tremendously in finally getting an upper hand on the fire.
Mathews says they were concerned over the possibility of other buildings and some nearby houses catching on fire…including the city’s fire station…as a stiff south wind was blowing glowing embers onto the buildings. Fortunately, the blaze was confined to just the one building.
Mathews says a cause may never be known, due to the fact nothing’s left. A representative of the State Fire Marshall’s Office was on the scene for awhile very early this (Wed.) morning. It’s believed the fire started inside a wall on the building’s east side. Officials believe the cause could have been an electrical problem, but an official determination hasn’t been made yet.
All that’s left of the building is the brick walls and a pile of rubble in the middle of the building that was still on fire and smoking heavily yet at mid-morning (see photo). A couple of Terril firefighters stood by dousing hotspots. The assisting fire departments left the scene between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m.
The building is owned by Dave Dingle of Terril.
