Le Mars, Iowa — The Orange City Fire Department assisted the Le Mars Fire Department at a structure fire call that damaged a Le Mars business on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
According to Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief David Schipper, the call went out a few minutes before 3:40 p.m. He says the call was to Van’s Sanitation at 1553 18th Street SW in the industrial area of Le Mars. Schipper says the fire started beside the recycling building. He says that when they got there, firefighters encountered a semi-trailer full of recycled materials on fire and the fire had spread to several large bales of recycled goods.
The chief says that the trailer had been backed up to the loading dock area of the building, and the strong south winds pushed the fire in through the loading dock and into the recycling building igniting several bales and loose materials consisting of plastics, shredded paper, and aluminum.
He says that at that time, the building’s sprinkler system activated, and five sprinkler heads slowed the fire. Firefighters attacked the fire with three handlines, a master stream from the Le Mars Aerial platform, and an aerial master stream from the Orange City Fire Ladder truck.
The fire was brought under control in approximately 45 minutes using several thousands of gallons of water and over 70 gallons of firefighting foam.
Firefighters along with Van’s Sanitation staff used skid loaders and a backhoe to remove the bales from around the building, also remove the bales and loose material from the building, and to tear apart the semi-trailer to totally extinguish the fire. Firefighters were on scene for over three hours, according to Schipper.
Schipper tells us that the origin of the fire was in the semi-trailer located at the loading dock area on the west side of the building. The cause for the fire was determined to be ACCIDENTAL with the most probable cause being a lithium battery that exploded from overheating and caught fire.
The chief says the exceptionally large fire moved very rapidly causing what he called “an extremely dangerous situation.” He says that the weather conditions also were tough on the firefighters with several of them being checked and rehabbed by EMS personnel. A total of forty-five fire and EMS personnel responded to the emergency.
He says the Le Mars Police Department, Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office, Orange City Fire Department, Mid-American Energy, the City of Le Mars Water Department and several other people assisted with the response to the fire call.
Damage amounts are still being assessed at this time. There is insurance on the property and no other buildings or semi-trailers nearby were damaged, according to Schipper, who tells us it was a busy day for their department on Wednesday, with no fewer than twelve calls.
