March 28, 2024

UPDATED: Osceola Farm & Home considered 'total loss' after Sunday blaze

You could smell it before you saw it — the charred and smoking remains of a popular Osceola business.

That long-standing business, Osceola Farm & Home, completely burned to the ground Sunday.

What once was a building with almost every farm and home item imaginable, as well as a tire shop, was gone in less than 24 hours.

"If you needed it, they had it, and they had more than one of it," said Osceola Police Chief Marty Duffus.

The fire started around 5:30 a.m. Sunday at Osceola Farm & Home. The fire burned all morning and Todd Jackson, fire chief in Creston, said the supply store was still burning in the afternoon. Firefighters used a backhoe to tear down the east wall of the business Sunday afternoon so they could better extinguish the fire.

"It will be a total loss," Jackson said Sunday.

Highway 34 near the business was closed to traffic all day Sunday as lines were draped across the highway.

Duffus said numerous streets were also blocked off so fire trucks that were needed on the scene wouldn't have to deal with any other traffic congestion.

He added, the public also has a habit of wanting to look and get as close to the fire as possible, which can also create a hazard. The highway and most city streets have since been reopened.

No injuries are being reported with this fire.

On Monday, Osceola Fire Chief Mike Fry said the cause is still unknown, but the fire did start on the north side of the building.

"I don't know that we'll get a cause, either," Fry said.

Eight area fire departments responded to the fire in Osceola. The local police department and ambulance personnel also provided assistance.

No other structures were affected by the fire, as the firefighters were able to contain any spread of the blaze from affecting other buildings or businesses.

Osceola Farm & Home is owned by brothers Jeff and Patrick Edwards. The supply store in Osceola has been in the family since the 1970s.

"It's going to make a pretty good impact on retail, sales tax, the community," Duffus said.