KDSN RADIO News
Flashover Caused by Solvent Vapors Sparks Fire That Destroys Dunlap Business
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A fire destroyed a business in Dunlap Wednesday morning. The incident occurred at 9:23 a.m. at Rockin K Solutions, located at 310 North 6th Street.
Initial reports suggested an explosion may have caused the blaze, but Dunlap Fire Chief Pat Cogdill clarified that it was actually a flashover.
“It wasn’t an explosion. It was a flashover,” said Cogdill. “Some employees, as we understand, were working with a solvent and it left some vapors in the building. They went to air it out. They opened the overhead doors and they turned on a fan, and when they plugged in the fan, there was a spark and it basically did a short flashover.”
There were four employees in the building at the time, and all made it out safely. No injuries were reported.
Fire crews were on the scene within four minutes of being paged. Dunlap Fire & Rescue was joined by departments from Dow City, Woodbine, Harlan, Panama, Defiance, Earling, Westphalia, and Denison. Cogdill said the fire was knocked down within an hour.
Due to the nature of the business, which operated as a gas station, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is now involved in the investigation. The owners of the business were reportedly on vacation at the time of the fire.
