Fire destroys Lake Park clinic
Two other buildings burn to ground
By Joanne Fox | Posted: Monday, December 29, 2008
Volunteer firefighters from Iowa and Minnesota towns battle the fire in Lake Park, Iowa, Sunday. It's believed the fire started in a medical clinic and spread to two other buildings. All three were destroyed. (Submitted photo by Brian Craig)
LAKE PARK, Iowa -- Denise Hemphill watched 29 and a half years of nursing go up in smoke on Sunday.
The nurse-practitioner's clinic, Hemphill Family Care, and two other storage buildings in this Iowa-Minnesota border community, were consumed by fire, the source of which remains unknown.
"But it was an old building, and I always said if it ever caught on fire, it would go fast," Hemphill said in a phone conversation from her home.
According to Lake Park Fire Chief Brandon Ehret, a passer-by called in the fire about 10 a.m., saying smoke was coming out of the clinic. Hemphill was at home when she was made aware of the fire.
"My husband Jim, who's on the fire department, had gone to church and left his beeper at home," she explained. "When it went off and I heard 'fire at 204 Market Street,' my heart just sank."
Hemphill drove to the site and handed the keys to the building to the firefighters.
"The smoke just rolled out when they opened the door," she said.
"It was clear the fire had originated in the clinic, and we tried to make an initial attack to put the fire out," Ehret said. "But it was too much, so we pulled back out and called for support."
Joe Vander Laan, safety officer for the Spirit Lake Community Fire Department, said the call came into their station at 10:06 a.m.
"They said they needed our aerial ladder truck to battle the blaze," he explained. "That was clear when we could see flames as we turned at Vick's Corner, about 11 miles away from Lake Park."
Arnolds Park and Okoboji fire departments also showed up with ladder trucks to assist the Lake Park firefighters. Other departments that assisted were from the Iowa communities of Everly, Fosteria, Harris, Hartley, Milford, Ocheydan, and from the Minnesota towns of Lakefield and Round Lake.
About 10:30, Ehret said, a moderate explosion occurred in the clinic, blowing out the front windows of the building. The dozen departments battled the blaze on the city's main street until about 4 p.m.
"By that time we had the fire under control, so most of the other departments left about 5:30," he said.
Vander Laan praised the city and citizens of Lake Park who came out to provide support for the firefighters.
"Several businesses opened their doors to us and provided food and restroom facilities," he said. "I can't thank them enough because they stayed open the entire time."
Two buildings to the north of the clinic that were unoccupied -- former businesses that had been converted to storage -- burned to the ground. The post office, adjoining the clinic, sustained smoke and water damage, but Ehret said that building was not lost.
Hemphill watched the fire for about six hours, calling it a "helpless" feeling of shock.
"There were some tears," she acknowledged. "I kept looking for something recognizable, but there was nothing."
There were no injuries reported with the blaze, which Hemphill called a blessing, saying that it might have been a different outcome if it had been a weekday.
"I have a couch in there and sometimes I lie down and doze off," she said. "Easily, I could have been there had it happened during the week."
Hemphill has had the clinic for just over 12 years, specializing in family health care and bio-identical hormone replacement. She had just changed the name less than two years ago from Lake Park Community Health Center to Hemphill Family Care. One other employee assists with patients and clients. Hemphill estimated that 5,000 charts "went up in smoke" on Sunday.
"But on the positive side, I just contracted out our billing in September so all of that is on their server," she said. "Plus, for the last year and a half, I've been putting everything on a portable hard drive and just brought it home with me the other day."
Ehret said the fire department returned to the scene several times later in the evening as the fire seemed to rekindle.
"We'll be monitoring it throughout then night for hot spots," he said. "We have some excavating equipment that we're using as well."
What's next for health care in this town, located about 100 miles north and east of Sioux City?
"That's a good question," Hemphill said. "The first thing is I'll meet with the fire marshal on Monday. Then I have to contact our courier that takes our lab work to Sioux Falls."
Dr. Chad Niemeier, a Lake Park chiropractor, has offered a spare room in his building at 222 Market St. for Hemphill to see patients,
"But actually, what I'm going to do is pray and ask for God's guidance," she said. "I know he has a plan."
The nurse-practitioner's clinic, Hemphill Family Care, and two other storage buildings in this Iowa-Minnesota border community, were consumed by fire, the source of which remains unknown.
"But it was an old building, and I always said if it ever caught on fire, it would go fast," Hemphill said in a phone conversation from her home.
According to Lake Park Fire Chief Brandon Ehret, a passer-by called in the fire about 10 a.m., saying smoke was coming out of the clinic. Hemphill was at home when she was made aware of the fire.
"My husband Jim, who's on the fire department, had gone to church and left his beeper at home," she explained. "When it went off and I heard 'fire at 204 Market Street,' my heart just sank."
Hemphill drove to the site and handed the keys to the building to the firefighters.
"The smoke just rolled out when they opened the door," she said.
"It was clear the fire had originated in the clinic, and we tried to make an initial attack to put the fire out," Ehret said. "But it was too much, so we pulled back out and called for support."
Joe Vander Laan, safety officer for the Spirit Lake Community Fire Department, said the call came into their station at 10:06 a.m.
"They said they needed our aerial ladder truck to battle the blaze," he explained. "That was clear when we could see flames as we turned at Vick's Corner, about 11 miles away from Lake Park."
Arnolds Park and Okoboji fire departments also showed up with ladder trucks to assist the Lake Park firefighters. Other departments that assisted were from the Iowa communities of Everly, Fosteria, Harris, Hartley, Milford, Ocheydan, and from the Minnesota towns of Lakefield and Round Lake.
About 10:30, Ehret said, a moderate explosion occurred in the clinic, blowing out the front windows of the building. The dozen departments battled the blaze on the city's main street until about 4 p.m.
"By that time we had the fire under control, so most of the other departments left about 5:30," he said.
Vander Laan praised the city and citizens of Lake Park who came out to provide support for the firefighters.
"Several businesses opened their doors to us and provided food and restroom facilities," he said. "I can't thank them enough because they stayed open the entire time."
Two buildings to the north of the clinic that were unoccupied -- former businesses that had been converted to storage -- burned to the ground. The post office, adjoining the clinic, sustained smoke and water damage, but Ehret said that building was not lost.
Hemphill watched the fire for about six hours, calling it a "helpless" feeling of shock.
"There were some tears," she acknowledged. "I kept looking for something recognizable, but there was nothing."
There were no injuries reported with the blaze, which Hemphill called a blessing, saying that it might have been a different outcome if it had been a weekday.
"I have a couch in there and sometimes I lie down and doze off," she said. "Easily, I could have been there had it happened during the week."
Hemphill has had the clinic for just over 12 years, specializing in family health care and bio-identical hormone replacement. She had just changed the name less than two years ago from Lake Park Community Health Center to Hemphill Family Care. One other employee assists with patients and clients. Hemphill estimated that 5,000 charts "went up in smoke" on Sunday.
"But on the positive side, I just contracted out our billing in September so all of that is on their server," she said. "Plus, for the last year and a half, I've been putting everything on a portable hard drive and just brought it home with me the other day."
Ehret said the fire department returned to the scene several times later in the evening as the fire seemed to rekindle.
"We'll be monitoring it throughout then night for hot spots," he said. "We have some excavating equipment that we're using as well."
What's next for health care in this town, located about 100 miles north and east of Sioux City?
"That's a good question," Hemphill said. "The first thing is I'll meet with the fire marshal on Monday. Then I have to contact our courier that takes our lab work to Sioux Falls."
Dr. Chad Niemeier, a Lake Park chiropractor, has offered a spare room in his building at 222 Market St. for Hemphill to see patients,
"But actually, what I'm going to do is pray and ask for God's guidance," she said. "I know he has a plan."
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