IVFD responds to fire, accident calls

    Imperial Volunteer Fire Department (IVFD) Chief Doug Mitchell hopes the weather forecast for rain or snow this week holds true.
    Moisture would help discourage the spread of fires.
    IVFD responded to two fire calls and one wreck during the past week.
    On April 7 a cornstalk fire was reported on land owned by the Bussell family west of Imperial, Mitchell said. Five to six acres of cornstalks were burned, the fire driven  to the southeast by wind, before rain and snow helped extinguish it.
    Mitchell said the fire was caused by a wire separating from an insulator on a HiLine Electric pole and rubbing on a post.
    Also called to the fire was the Lamar Volunteer Fire Department.
    On April 10 IVFD responded to a tractor fire one and one-half miles west of Titan Machinery on land owned by Jim Haarberg.
    First Assistant Chief Brad Wheeler said a hydraulic line on Haarberg’s tractor was suspected of causing the fire, which did not spread beyond the machinery.
    IVFD and Imperial EMS were called to a reported auto accident behind Pizza Hut on April 11.
    The Imperial Police Department and the Chase County Sheriff’s Office determined that the driver,  Kenneth Johnston Sr., had suffered a medical emergency and passed away earlier in the night, according to the police report.
    The vehicle had driven into a fence and was not a factor in the death.