Posted: 6/20/06
Another Hokah home burns
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
A home on Hokahís main street was heavily damaged by fire on Saturday night, June 17.
Nobody was living in the building at the time. Dave and Barb Bissen own it, and were planning on remodeling it, Hokah Fire Chief Jim Ross said on June 19.
A deputy state fire marshal has listed the cause as undetermined, Ross added.
It apparently began in the kitchen on the floor behind the stove. A kitchen and bathroom downstairs and another kitchen and bathroom upstairs were destroyed. The house will be totalled, Ross said.
The 9-1-1 call came at 10:22 p.m. La Crescent and Caledonia were called for mutual aid, and the Hokah First Responders were also on the scene. About 42 firemen fought the fire, which lasted 4-5 hours, Ross estimated. Highway 44 was closed, and law enforcement officers diverted traffic around the city until about 2:30 a.m. The house is located next to the post office.
It is the second fire this month in Hokah. A fire on June 3 damaged the home of Rita Watters at 19 Como Avenue. Ross did not know the cause of that fire on June 19.
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