Fire in Ladd destroys home and ignites nearby brush

A single-family home in Ladd was destroyed by fire Monday afternoon as multiple departments, including Ladd, Cherry, Spring Valley, Peru, among others responded to the blaze.

No one was home at the time of the fire and no injuries, either resident or firefighter, were reported.

The fire on Spring Creek Drive in Ladd was first reported by a neighbor who saw the home ablaze and called the authorities at about 1 p.m. Monday.

According to Ladd Fire Capt. BJ Liebe when the first responders arrived on the scene they immediately took a defensive approach.

“We went on a defensive position from the time we got here because (the fire) was already through the roof and from the rear to the front of the building,” Liebe said. “So we went defensive the whole time. Now we are just doing some overhaul.”

Liebe believes the fire began at the rear side of the residence but at this time no cause or reason has been confirmed. The fire is under investigation.

Firefighters were able to confine the fire to mainly cause damage at the initial structure.

Officials also believe the structure fire and high winds in the area caused a patch of brush to ignite across the street that was extinguished.

Local police departments blocked off both entrances to the road while firefighters worked.

Tanker trucks were using a hydrant located about a mile away on the corner of Plank Road and County Road 1600 North to continually carry water to where it was needed.

The large amounts of water being used from the hydrant triggered an alarm that was quickly written off as a result of the fire.

Once the fire was contained, some firefighters returned to their station while others stayed on scene for continued inspection to ensure winds didn’t cause any other areas to ignite.

At about 4 p.m the State Fire Marshal arrived on scene and began conducting interviews with firefighters and bystanders as the official cause will be determined at a later date.