Lake Park fire engulfs three downtown buildings

(Photos contributed by the Arnolds Park/Okoboji Fire and Rescue Team) Three buildings in downtown Lake Park were flattened in a fire on Sunday morning. Eleven fire departments assisted, but the Hemphill Family Care building and two others were a total loss.

Lake Park Fire Chief Brandon Ehret says the Lake Park Fire Department was called to the Hemphill Family Care building at approximately 10 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 28. for a reported building on fire. Hemphill Family Care is located at 204 Market Street in downtown Lake Park.

Upon arrival, firefighters encountered smoke and flames coming from the back of the Hemphill building. Mutual aid was summoned from 11 surrounding communities for water, manpower and aerial ladders.

The city water supply was used up and then water was taken from dry hydrants which take water from Silver Lake.

"Three buildings went clear to the ground," said Ehret. "One was the Hemphill Family Care building and the other two were unoccupied storage."

Firefighters were on scene for approximately 6 hours on Sunday. Personnel from the surrounding communities were released around 4 p.m., and Lake Park firefighters remained on the scene throughout the night into Monday morning.

An investigation into the cause of the fire was conducted Monday morning by the Lake Park Fire Department and the Iowa State Fire Marshalls Office.

"The cause is undetermined," said Ehret. "But we do have a point of origin relative to the structure."

The area of origin for the fire was determined to be in the east end of the Hemphill Family Care Building. This was the single story portion of the building that was attached to the two story portion of the building. All items in this part of the building are being evaluated, including the furnace and electrical service.

A total estimate on the damage has not yet been calculated. The blaze flattened the Hemphill Family Care Building owned by Denise and Jim Hemphill. It also destroyed two storage buildings to the north of the medical building owned by Dan Wingert.

The post office to the south of the Family Care building was also damaged. The post office sustained fire, smoke and water damage and is not usable at this time. All of the mail was saved and moved to a different location. Patrons are asked to be patient with postal operations while the post office operates out of a remote location.

The Lake Park Fire Department was assisted by firefighters from Spirit Lake, Superior, Arnolds Park/Okoboji, Milford, Everly, Fostoria, Ocheyedan, Harris, Lakefield and Round Lake. Arial ladders from Spirit Lake and Arnolds Park/Okoboji assisted in the arial operations.

The 11 fire departments were also assisted by Dickinson County Emergency Management and the Dickinson County Sheriff's Department. A special thanks goes out to Silver Lake Resort, Stan's Corner, Blue Moon Bakery and Cafe and the Lake Park Fire Department's Ladies Auxiliary for supplying food and drinks for the volunteer firefighters during the incident.