A Saturday afternoon fire at least temporarily displaced a family in Belle Plaine. Firemen were called to the Lloyd Thede residence, 902 13th Street, at 1:10 p.m. Smoke was pouring from the upper portion of the home.
Firemen were on the scene for approximately three hours and were called back for a flare-up late Sunday morning. An electrical malfunction is the suspected cause of the blaze, which started in the basement and spread to the roof of the large, two-story home.
The family was not at home at the time of the fire. Firemen indicated that the home might be a total loss. The Red Cross was called to assist the family.
The Belle Plaine Fire Department was assisted by the Chelsea Fire Department. A local department spokesman said Chelsea provided manpower with air packs, as many of the local firemen went through three tanks of oxygen each in battling the stubborn blaze.
Firemen also said traffic in the area was a problem. Fortunately, there was a fire hydrant in the immediate area of the house, but they also needed to tap another hydrant on a different water main. Motorists are reminded that when a fire truck is parked in the middle of an intersection at a fire scene, the road is closed in the area and motorists should not attempt to drive around the trucks. Fire hoses might be running in the street near a fire scene. In this case, a hydrant over two blocks away was also used, firemen said.