LEHIGH, Iowa — A fire chief in a small Iowa town lost his home to a fire Friday morning.
THOnline.com reported that Fire Chief Kirk Kelley, with the Lehigh (Iowa) Fire Department, said he heard a loud banging noise from a closet near his front door just before the fire broke out. Chief Kelley, his wife, their two children, ages 2 and 4, and the family dog escaped unharmed.
The cause remains under investigation.
Two other Lehigh firefighters have lost their homes to fire this year. On Oct. 5, firefighter Cody Frazier lost his home in a fire. The cause of that fire also remains under investigation.
A third Lehigh firefighter, Milton Friedel, lost his home in April. The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical.
We interviewed Chief Kelley back in January as he announced his plan to start panhandling to get funding for a much-needed new firehouse for his department. Before that, he went on a hunger strike for 40 days and lost 30 pounds to help raise $500,000 for the new firehouse.