Local fire department gets recognition

A small-town fire department is getting recognized for its hard work after volunteers spent more than six hours responding to emergencies. Firefighters with the Roberts Fire District volunteer their time to help rural cities. On Friday, they rushed to a car wreck that left three people injured. A few minutes later, they had to put out a huge fire.

The fire agency is composed of 10 people who cover 300 square miles. They barely get compensated, but they couldn’t be more proud.

“I can’t tell you how great it feels to have somebody come back to you a year later after you saved their life and have them put their arms around you and hug you and tell you thank you,” said Cheryl Bell, an EMT.

Bell was one of five firefighters called to the car wreck and fire in Jefferson County.

“It rained the whole time we were out there until we were done with the wreck, until we got done with the fire at 1:30 in the morning,” Bell said.

Stephanie Mickelsen is the owner of Mickelsen Farms, the potato company that owns the building that partially burned down.

“My husband had told me that the building was on fire and then he told me about the wreck. I was far more worried about the individuals in the wreck than we were about our building. You can always fix things, but people are a different story,” said Mickelsen.

Mickelsen said the building was used to mix seed treatments and employees were planting potatoes in the field when the fire broke out. She also said even though the building is a total loss, she is glad everyone is okay.

The company’s employees are not out of work because of the fire. There are facilities nearby where they can work. Mickelsen said the cause of the fire may be electrical.

Crews in Menan, Lewisville and Ucon helped contain the fire Friday night. The Roberts Fire District is currently looking for volunteers. If you are interested call, 208-228-3353, and leave a message with your name and number.