On Wednesday, Oct. 16, the Malcom Lumber & Hardware Store, located at 815 West St. just north of the train tracks, caught fire. The store, part of a three-location local chain, suffered from roughly 65,000 dollars’ worth of damage according to the Grinnell Fire Department. The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit, which set a box ablaze in the front part of the store, igniting about half of the building. A full brigade of Grinnell’s firefighters responded to the call shortly after 10 p.m., aided by members of the Kellogg, Malcom, Gilman and Brooklyn fire departments.
Grinnell fire chief Dan Sicard was pleased with the group’s successful efforts to contain the fire and prevent further damage.
“I was happy we cut it off before it hit the lumber,” he said.
The effective collaboration between departments was encouraging to see.
“It was a long night for everybody, but we worked well together,” he said.
While the store sustained significant damage to the facade of the building, there were no reported injuries from the blaze. Storeowner Roger Schroeder stated that although the damage is sizeable, Malcom Lumber is still open for business.
“The fire is devastating to us but there was never a question [of] rebuilding for the community. We have a temporary office on site and are selling lumber and sheetrock, and still doing glass and screen repair,” he said. “The cleanup process is started and rebuild plans [are] underway.”
