As many as 15 people have died in fires across Iowa during the first six weeks of this year, twice the statewide death toll compared to last year. Ron Humphrey, spokesman for the State Fire Marshal’s office, says bitter cold weather was a factor in many of the deadly blazes. “That was the case in the Boxholm fire, where it was extremely cold, so (the family was) using extra heat sources in the house, which then led to the fire, which led to the firefighters out in that extreme cold,” Humphrey says. “It’s hard on humans, it’s hard on equipment, it’s a perfect storm. It was hard to fight that fire with everything involved.”

Humphrey says smoke detectors were discovered in the rubble of nearly every fire, but most had no batteries or were otherwise not functioning. “It’s kind of sad when you go into these fatalities and you see a smoke detector there that had a battery and you wonder, would that have made a difference, or there was no smoke detectors in there,” Humphrey says. “That can be very frustrating.”

Humphrey says half of the fatalities occurred in just two fires during January. Three people died in a home in Montrose in southeast Iowa, while a mother and her three children perished in a blaze in Boxholm just south of Fort Dodge.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday) approved the appointment of a full-time assistant in the County Auditor’s Office. Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman said one of his deputies has submitted her resignation effective April 30th, and the appointment of an assistant is needed to train for a couple of months before a Full-Time Deputy Auditor is appointed by the Board. Sunderman requested Mary Beth Anstey be appointed full-time assistant. Anstey will be paid $15 per hour effective March 1st.

Sunderman says Anstey has worked with the County for several years and for the last year has been working in the Adams County Auditor’s Office. In other business, the Board approved a payroll change and change of pay rate for Christopher Williams, a Secondary Roads Dept. employee who has completed his probationary period. The increase is retroactive to Feb. 10th, and since he is a Union employee, his rate of pay will be increase from $18.61 to $19.11, per hour.

Cass County Assistant Engineer Rich Hansen updated the Board on the status of three upcoming bridge sub-structure projects.  He said the plans are ready, and they’re advertising now, for bids. The bid letting will be held March 8th. All three bridges are tied together, meaning the same contractor will take care of the labor and equipment. The County will supply about $54,000 worth of steel and materials for the three projects, which will have steel pilings and sheet back walls.

The bridges are concrete double-T designs, which currently have decayed pilings. Putting in new pilings and substructure will allow the County to remove the weight limits for those bridges, according to Hansen. One of the bridges, #102, is located in far southwest part of County, south of Griswold. Another, bridge #123, is located on Pella Road, about ¾ of a mile from the Adair County line. The third, bridge #17, is located on Yankton Road, about 2 ½ miles west of Highway 148.

Hansen said whomever the contractor is, they will have until November to complete the projects. Work will most likely be conducted on the bridges over the Summer.