Webster City firefighters were called to 1605 Second St. at 5:19 a.m. after the fire and several explosions were reported. The fire crew found the brick structure fully engulfed in flames upon arrival.

Webster City Fire Chief Chuck Stansfield said crews were able to stop the fire from moving east, where additional equipment could have been damaged.

Fire Capt. Andy Sowle said that as the walls of the building collapsed, a gas line and a water main broke. Black Hills Energy and city utility personnel were also called in, he said.

Nicole Stinn, Hamilton County engineer, was on the scene Sunday morning to assess the damage to the building and equipment.

—Photo submitted by Juan Trujillo
Fire trucks and crews are silhouetted by the huge fire that destroyed the Hamilton County maintenance shed at 1605 Second St. early Sunday morning. Two plow trucks and seven pickup trucks were lost in the blaze. Crews were able to move other equipment to another storage building, according to County Engineer Nicole Stinn.

“Right now, we lost about a third of the shed, for sure. We’re pretty sure the heating system and water systems are gone,” she said.

“We lost two plow trucks, seven pickup trucks, a plow and some miscellaneous other equipment. We got a good bulk of the equipment out of the other part of the building and moved it to another shed,” Stinn said.

She estimated that loss of the plow trucks would total about $200,000 each, while the pickup trucks were worth about $30,000 each.

“We’re still assessing the damage,” she said.

Sowle said 22 Webster City firefighters helped battle the blaze, with mutual aid provided by Duncombe, Stanhope and Woolstock fire departments.

—Photo submitted by Juan Trujillo
The Hamilton County maintenance shed is fully engulfed Sunday morning.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time and the state fire marshal has been called in to investigate, according to Sowle.

Though the weather forecast has no snow predicted until after Christmas, Stinn said if there should be a snow event, her crews would still be able to clear the county’s roadways.

“If we have to, we can start a few of the guys a little earlier and some may have to make some bigger rounds,” she said. “We generally do have a spare truck or two. So we’ll be able to pull equipment together to get everything covered if we do have some weather happening,” she said, adding that motor graders could be pulled in to handle the paved roads.

“It just might be a hair slower than normal,” she said.

—Photo submitted by Juan Trujillo
Webster City firefighter Don Wills observes the blaze at the Hamilton County maintenance shed from atop a fire truck Sunday morning.

—Photo submitted by Juan Trujillo
The remains of the Hamilton County maintenance shed are shown, as firefighters continue to work at the scene Sunday morning.

—Photo submitted by Juan Trujillo
Firefighters survey the damage in the aftermath of the Hamilton County maintenance shed fire Sunday morning. The fire was reported at 5:19 a.m., and the building was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. Firefighters from the Duncombe, Stanhope and Woolstock departments assisted at the scene. A firefighter works at the scene of the Hamilton County shed fire Sunday morning in Webster City. The fire destroyed two plow trucks and seven pickups. The cause of the fire is under nvestigation.

—Photo submitted by Juan Trujillo
A firefighter works at the scene of the Hamilton County shed fire Sunday morning in Webster City. The fire destroyed two plow trucks and seven pickups. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

—Photo submitted by Juan Trujillo
The Hamilton County maintenance shed continues to burn Sunday morning. Four departments responded to the fire.

—Photo submitted by Juan Trujillo
A firefighter works at the scene of a fire Sunday morning at the Hamilton County maintenance shed.