(From The Albion News)
Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department was called to the scene, two miles south and one mile east of Petersburg, at 9:50 p.m. Thursday and found the house engulfed in flames. The home is owned by Craig Seier and was occupied by Andy Jacobson, who works for Seier and is also a Petersburg fireman. Jacobson was in the Newman Grove area on a service call at the time of the fire.
Firemen arrived within minutes, but the southwest corner of the house was already fully involved and a section of the roof had collapsed, said Fire Chief Neil Baumgartner. The department had 27 firemen and eight units on the scene for more than three hours. About half of the structure was saved, but the two-story home and contents were a total loss. No damage occurred to surrounding buildings on the farmstead. Baumgartner said a northwest wind hampered efforts of firemen.
Cause of the fire remained under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s office on Friday, and the dollar amount of the loss was not yet available.
