The first fire was reported at 3 p.m. Sunday at 1345 Third Ave. N.W. Firefighters arrived to find the house, a tree and part of the yard on fire. There were also live power lines on the ground.

The second fire was reported at 2:35 p.m. Monday at 225 K St. The flames were confined to the home’s kitchen.

According to Fire Department reports, Sunday’s fire began on the exterior deck of the two-story wood frame home, which is located to the south of Third Avenue Northwest and cannot be seen from the road. Fire Chief Steve Hergenreter said a charcoal smoker was being used on the deck to smoke some meat.

“It was determined that embers from the smoker ignited the fire,” he said. “It spread very quickly due to strong winds and extremely dry conditions.”

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Fort Dodge firefighters take a hoseline in through the front door of a house at 225 K St. Monday afternoon to attack a fire in the kitchen. No one was hurt in the fire, which was reported at 2:25 p.m.

The fire spread from the deck to the interior of the house, burning parts of the first and second floors and the attic.

The two people who were home escaped unharmed.

The house sustained severe fire, smoke and heat damage on all levels, according to Fire Department reports.

Firefighters were on scene for two hours.

The house is owned by Ladon K. Sams, according to online records of the Webster County Assessor’s Office.

No one was home at 225 K St. when the fire ignited there Monday afternoon. The fire was reported by neighbors, who saw smoke coming out of a back window.

Firefighters forced open a front door and pulled one hoseline inside to extinguish the flames.

Hergenreter said the kitchen sustained heavy fire damage, while the rest of the home sustained smoke and heat damage.

He said the fire started in the kitchen. The precise cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday.

Online records of the Webster County Assessor’s Office indicate that the house is owned by Kesterson Investment Corp.

Several off-duty firefighters were called back to work Monday afternoon, and some of them responded to a vehicle accident with injuries at North 15th Street and 20th Avenue North while their colleagues were working at the K Street fire.

Fort Dodge police assisted firefighters at both incidents.