Man waters dogs, lets the fire out

An eastern Iowa man’s effort to water his dogs last night proved to be costly.Firefighters says Duane Ahmann of Epworth used a torch to thaw out a water faucet to water his dogs. A passerby later spotted smoke coming from the home. Firefighters say there was extensive fire damage to the basement of the home and smoke damage throughout. Damage is estimated at 15-thousand dollars. Firefighters believe the fire was a result of Ahmann’s efforts to thaw out the faucet with the torch.