Former north Iowa school building destroyed by fire

ROCKFORD — A former elementary school building in the northern Iowa town of Rockford was destroyed by fire last week.

The fire was reported at around 10 p.m. Friday, according to a Facebook post by the Floyd County Emergency Management Agency. First responders found the building, at 205 Second Ave. NW, fully engulfed when they arrived.

Every fire department in Floyd County responded to the scene, as well as sheriff’s deputies, EMS personnel and Floyd County Search and Rescue. The fire also drew the Greene Fire Department from neighboring Butler County.

Firefighters used city water supplies to fight the fire, and they pulled water from the Shell Rock River, shuttling it to the scene in tanker trucks.

“Although the fire burned hot and fast, there were no injuries,” the post states.

According to assessor’s records, the school was built in 1900. The emergency management agency wrote that the building replaced another school that was built in 1873 and lost to fire in 1899.