State investigators are looking into a fire at the home of a north-central Iowa judge this week. Hampton firefighters were called to the home of District Judge Stephen Carroll at about 6:45 a.m. Monday. Carroll and his wife were out of the country, with Carroll’s daughter Jennifer watching the home while they were away. But, she was not there when the fire started.
Neighbors told the Hampton Chronicle that they heard a loud explosion before seeing flames and smoke coming from the house. A spokesman for the State Fire Marshal’s Office says they learned about the fire on Tuesday and they have an agent looking into the cause. The spokesman says investigators want to make sure the fire is not related to Carroll’s position as a district court judge. A cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
by Bob Fisher, KGLO