Small Town News

Fire heavily damages home on Terra Tam

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Sparks from a "fire ring" that had been used near the house at 25 Terra Tam Circle were whipped up by strong winds and started a fire that did extensive damage to the house Friday morning.

Firemen from Moville, Kingsley, Lawton, Bronson and the Emergency Operations Center fought the fire that was first reported about 10 a.m. at the house owned by Brad Koele. A fire and firefighters from Healey Werks --located west of Lawton on U.S. Highway 20-- also helped fight the fire.

There were no injuries, but one family member was at home with a baby when the fire broke out and was able to exit the house uninjured.

According to former Moville Fire Chief Jon Hess, who fought the fire, the windy conditions apparently stirred up the remains of a wood fire that had been contained in a "fire ring," and the sparks ignited a fire that went up the siding into a vent that ignited material below the roof. The fire then swept north along the roof line, driven by strong south winds.

Neighbors helped move some of the furniture in the house into the yard, but much of the home's furnishings were destroyed and much of the house was badly damaged.

Moville has had only a few residential structure fires in recent years, and this is the first since a 1997 fire destroyed a home north of the city park on North Third Street. Several fires have done extensive damage, including one on Glen Drive in 1985, a fire on East Main Street in 1994, Hess said. The Moville Fire Department has fought several major residential structure fires in the country, including one last year.

The city's worst fires have occurred in the business district, including several apartment fires in downtown Moville that did damage to single apartments in the three and four-story buildings on Main Street, the fire that heavily damaged a business and apartment building at the corner of Second and Main streets, and the fire that destroyed Country Foods, the city's only grocery store, in April, 2008.



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© 2010 Moville Record Moville, Iowa. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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