Faulty electrical wiring of a skid loader appears to be the cause of a fire Wednesday night on the south side of Kalona.

Kalona Fire Chief Jerry Zahradnek says they were called to 1239 Highway 1 South for a structure fire at Hershberger Enterprises. The skid loader had been parked in the building’s cold storage unit earlier in the evening around 7:00 p.m. and a Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy on patrol spotted the fire shortly after 11:30 p.m..

Zahradnek says they took aggressive measures to knock down the fire and it was under control within 30 minutes. The structure contained various items including tires from nearby Kalona Tire. He says the cold storage unit escaped any major damage but estimates $30-40,000 in damages to the contents inside. The adjacent main building that housed Hershberger trucks and vans was not damaged by the fire.

There were no injuries in the incident. Wellman, Riverside, Washington and Ainsworth fire departments assisted in extinguishing the fire. Zahradnek says Keota firefighters were also called but were sent back before they arrived. Kalona QRS and Washington County Ambulance also responded to the scene.