Flames ripped through a vacant Fort Dodge house Sunday morning, seriously damaging it and partially melting some siding on the home next door.
The fire at 1216 First Ave. N. was reported at 8:55 a.m.
”We could see the smoke as soon as we opened the garage doors at the fire station,” Fire Department Capt. Steve Teske said.
When the firefighters arrived, they used a kind of water cannon called a deck gun mounted on top of a pumper to put the first stream of water on the large volume of flames coming out of the house, Teske said. He said there was fire in the first and second floors, plus the attic.
”Then the windows on the stairway let go, and the fire went out and began spreading on the exterior wall,” Teske said.
The house sustained very extensive fire damage throughout its west side.