Newton Fire Chief Jarrod Wellik says it will take time to determine the cause and monetary loss from a storage building fire Tuesday morning at Heartland Co-op on Highway 14 north of Newton. The 60×80 foot building was deemed a total loss, along with a couple of vehicles and other items that were inside. Wellik says the building collapsed, which is slowing down the investigation. He adds that one firefighter did sustain a minor injury and remains on the job after being seen at the Newton Clinic. 

The fire was reported just after 7:30 Tuesday morning, and was out within two hours according to Wellik. Firefighters were at the scene until after 1 p.m. The Fire Chief also says there was a string of local EMS calls at the same time. Many of those were handled by the Jasper County Sheriff’ Department’s  Advanced Life Support personnel and Colfax Ambulance Service. Area fire departments that assisted at Heartland Co-op included Baxter, Colfax, Kellogg, Mingo, and Monroe.