(Arnolds Park)– Two houses are pretty much total losses and a third has heavy damage following a fire late this (Tues.) afternoon in downtown Arnolds Park. Arnolds Park-Okoboji Fire Chief Chris Yungbluth tells KUOO news they were called to the scene on Allen Avenue a little before 4:30 pm…
“So we were initially dispatched for a garage explosion and then structure fire to follow that at 39 Allen Avenue here in Arnolds Park. Enroute we were updated, notified, that additional structures nearby were starting to catch fire as well. When we arrived we actually had three structures on fire. We had an exposure to the south and an exposure to the north of the structure that had started from the intense heat from the fire in the original structure. We arrived, immediately called for Milford on the way down; we saw a pretty good plume of smoke in our response from the stations so we just called for assistance right away. Daytime help for volunteers is always tight some days. We had a good turnout, though, today and were able to get a pretty good hold on the fire, we were able to stop it. For the most part the south exposure has got some limited damage to the exterior; the north structure will have some interior and exterior damage and the main structure is pretty much a total loss at this time.”
Yungbluth says no one was in the structures at the time…
“There was a maintenance person that had done some burning out back earlier, but nobody was in any of the structures at the time of the fire.”
Yungbluth says whether the fire was the result of that is under investigation. He adds that one person was treated on the scene for possible smoke inhalation…
“I’m not sure if they had gone in to try to fight the fire or working on fighting the fire. We did notice there was a fire extinguisher out back. We haven’t gotten that story yet any ways; we’ll be working on finding out why that is as well. But that patient was checked out, refused transport to the hospital and is doing medically fine. I’m not sure if it was a citizen or if it was a staff member of the folks that own the house or a resident.”
Yungbluth adds they had to work in pretty tight quarters to put out the fire, adding they were extremely fortunate there wasn’t much wind…
“Well it’s a one way street, it’s pretty narrow, it’s right downtown here. Luckily we had a good water supply. It’s not winter time, that always helps us out a lot, too, and we had light winds today so it didn’t hamper us that way either, so.”
Yungbluth says it took about an hour and 15 minutes to bring the fire under control. An excavator was brought in to dismantle the most heavily damage structure to make sure the fire was completely out. Firefighters remained on the scene well into the evening monitoring hot spots.
The Arnolds Park and Okoboji Police Departments, Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa DNR, Black Hills Energy, Alliant Energy, Lakes Regional Healthcare Ambulance, the city of Arnolds Park, and Dickinson County Emergency Management all assisted on the scene.
