Firefighters battle fire and ice in rural blaze

A rural Nodaway County home near Ravenwood was heavily damaged by fire Thursday afternoon.

The two-story Jeff Meyer residence on Olympic Road about 200 yards south of Route O apparently caught fire when an exterior wood stove malfunctioned. Smoke and some fire were visible from the house as firefighters arrived on the scene.

According to Nodaway County Chief Sheriff's Deputy David Glidden, no one was at home when the fire started, and there were no injuries.

Volunteer crews from several departments, including Maryville Public Safety, responded to the alarm, which came in at 1:30 p.m. Jackson Township, Polk Township and the Tri-C Fire Protection District also sent units to the scene as did Nodaway County Ambulance.

A snow- and ice-covered gravel road hampered access to the blaze, and a Maryville Public Safety truck got stuck in a snow-filled ditch before it could reach a staging near the house.

Firefighters set up a large, portable reservoir to use as a water source, but tankers initially had trouble backing up to it over a sloping, slush-filled driveway.

Smoke poured from the eaves, doors and windows of the residence as firefighters donned oxygen tanks to battle the flames from inside the structure. As they worked, a crew from United Electric Cooperative arrived to shut off the electricity.

Crews remained at the scene through much of the afternoon and were able to save the structure. However the house appeared to have extensive smoke damage throughout, and much of a south-facing exterior wall was burned black in the area behind the stove where the fire apparently started.