Faulty Furnace Suspected in Dumont House Fire

DUMONT, IA---A Dumont home is in ruins and a faulty furnace is suspected as the cause.

Fire crews found themselves battling flames and the elements on Sunday and early Monday morning.

Shortly after 6:30 p.m. Sunday night, a neighbor reported seeing smoke coming out of the eaves of a home at 714 3rd Street in Dumont.

Homeowner Robert White was not home at the time.

Butler County authorities said White and his children were on their way to Southern Iowa at the time the fire began.

Dumont Fire crews requested mutual aid as soon as they reached the home and they were eventually assisted by 5 other nearby fire departments.

Butler County Emergency Management Coordinator Mitch Nordmeyer said about 40-45 firefighters found themselves facing several problems.

The older two story house had been added onto several times, making it difficult to get at the fire.

Nordmeyer said crew members were driven out by the heat and smoke on their initial attack.

The subzero wind chills didn't help either and they struggled to keep guys warm.

There are no serious injuries, but at least 2 or 3 crew members suffered minor frost bite.

Hoses, nozzles and trucks were freezing up as well.

Nordmeyer said there is a water hydrant a half a block away, but due to pressure and pipe size limitations, crews were forced to use it and to also truck water in.

The home itself is a total loss, but crews were able to save the attached garage and some of its contents.

On Monday afternoon Dumont Fire Chief Gary Bierman said the preliminary cause of the fire is a faulty natural gas furnace located in the home's basement.

Fire investigators have not been able to get into the basement yet to make a final determination on the fire's actual cause.

Houses on either side of the fire did not sustain any damage.

The Red Cross is helping White.
 
Authorities said he has 4 children, all but one of them live with him.