The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports what started out as one of the more severe types of calls their dispatch center receives, turned out to be not so bad, and then not good. The Center received an emergency 911 early Sunday afternoon, about a “semi fully loaded with propane and fully engulfed” at the exit 76 off ramp into Adair.
Adair Fire quickly responded and knocked the fire down. They also realized the tanker was full of milk and only had propane fuel tanks for the truck’s regular operation. Authorities say the reporting party was overwhelmed with what was going on and did not specify some important details. A tanker of propane that catches fire requires a 1/2 mile radius evacuation. That would inherently be almost the entire town of Adair.
The Sheriff’s Office says while clean up was underway, a multi-car accident occurred due to slowing traffic, non-slowing traffic and onlookers. Three people were injured in the crash (See updated, separate report) The Sheriff’s Office credits great teamwork by all agencies, including the Iowa State Patrol, Adair Police Department, Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, Adair Fire and Rescue, Casey Fire, Fontanelle Fire, Menlo Fire and Rescue, Adair County Ambulance, the Iowa DOT and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office.
To add to the excitement, Orient Fire was dispatched at around the same time Sunday, to a structure fire. No injuries were reported during that incident.