An investigator with the State Fire Marshal’s Office is back in the western Iowa town of Exira today working to determine what caused Friday’s blaze that destroyed four businesses on a city block.
Exira Fire Chief Mike Bintner says they weren’t able to get a close look at the scene as small fires are continuing to flare up in the wreckage of the buildings, as recently as yesterday morning.
There was a flare-up around 1 AM on Sunday and crews rotated in and out of the area throughout the weekend. Bintner says they were able to hit some hot spots from overhead with the help of some aerial equipment. The chief says he didn’t see any smoke coming from the rubble this morning.
“The fire marshal will be on the scene again to determine if it’s safe enough to go in and do any investigation, otherwise, it’ll probably be a long, drawn out process if we’ve got to get an excavator and start moving a level at a time,” Bintner says. “At this point in time, it’s still under investigation and the cause is still undetermined.”
Firefighters from at least two dozen nearby communities helped battle the blaze and he says the support from the locals has been fantastic.
“They wanted to know how all of us are doing,” he says. “I haven’t had so many thank yous in three days from people, thanks for what you guys do, the food, the water, everything.”
The Chuckwagon Restaurant in Adair is offering a free meal to any firefighter who can show an ID or other form of proof of their service to a fire department.
By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic