Firefighters Battle Morning House Fire

Four fire department battled this house fire on North Pine in New Sharon on Friday morning.

New Sharon, Iowa – The New Sharon Fire Department was dispatched to a call of a house on fire at 309 North Pine in New Sharon on Friday morning, and ultimately, four fire departments ended up helping at the scene.

An Oskaloosa fighter was one of those first on scene, when he heard the call for help as he was driving through town. He helped to direct those in the home until fire crews could arrive.

Soon, firefighters from the volunteer department in New Sharon arrived to find the south side of the home engulfed with heavy fire.

“It had a tremendous fire load on the inside”, said New Sharon Fire Chief Steve Gerard.

Oskaloosa Fire Department answered the initial call for mutual aid, and subsequent calls for aid were answered from Montezuma and Barnes City.

Gerard indicated that no one was injured by either the fire or the firefighting efforts.

Gerard said that initial investigation indicated that the fire may have been started by an electrical issue.

The home and much of its contents appeared to be a total loss, and the American Red Cross was offering some initial assistance to the home’s residents.