• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Fires/Accidents/Disasters / Clinton city official: ‘We’ve lost a hero’ following fire and explosion

Clinton city official: ‘We’ve lost a hero’ following fire and explosion

January 7, 2019 By Matt Kelley

Lt. Eric Hosette

A Clinton firefighter was killed and a second firefighter was gravely injured while battling a large blaze on Saturday at the ADM grain processing plant in that eastern Iowa town.

Clinton Fire Chief Mike Brown says the crew was about a hundred feet off the ground fighting the flames when the grain silo exploded.

Chief Brown says: “Eric Hosette, 33 years old, a lieutenant, he’s been on our department 12 years, a fine man with a wife and young daughter, was taken to Mercy Medical Center where they did everything possible to try to revive him — and he did not make it.”

After the blast, there was a lot of debris, fire and chaos.

“We had a missing firefighter, Adam Cain, who was found after the explosion and heroically gotten out and rescued,” Brown says. “He was flown to Iowa City.”

Cain’s condition at University Hospitals was originally listed as “very critical,” according to Brown, but the latest report says he’s now stable, awake, alert and breathing on his own.

Firefighter Adam Cain

Clinton City Administrator Matt Brooke says hundreds of people, including dozens of firefighters and law officers, lined roads and overpasses as the hearse carrying Hosette’s body made its way from the hospital to the medical examiner’s office.

“We received hundreds of calls today, more support than I’ve ever seen in a community come together and really across the region,” Brooke says. “We’ve seen folks meet Eric and his family as he was moving to Ankeny to help escort. We’ve seen Iowa City open their arms. None of our firefighters are currently on shift. We have folks from Camanche, from Fulton and from Davenport all jumping in.”

During a news conference Saturday night, Brooke said the amount of support has been heart-warming.

“We just want to make sure that we thank all the city workers, all the citizens, all the folks in the region, all the firefighters that I mentioned who have come today to help out,” Brooke says, “as we’ve lost a hero.”

The cause of the fire and explosion are under investigation.

Brooke says the last time a Clinton first responder was killed in the line of duty was a police officer who died in the 1990s.

(Thanks to Paul Dymkowski, KROS, Clinton)

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, News

Featured Stories

ISU research finds health benefits for chickens watching virtual reality

Fish kill at Storm Lake linked to virus that impacts only carp

Final employee who was there at the launch of the Iowa Lottery to retire

No more USPS mail in Iowa prisons; inmates to get copies of mail

State officials warn of influx of fake prescription drugs laced with fentanyl

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Grinnell College football looks for more progress in rebuild

Iowa State’s Brock eyes expanded role

Iowa’s Jones adjusting to move to center

Iowa unranked to open the season

UNI’s Spencer Cuvelier bounces back from injury

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2022 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC