Weekend fires spark action in county
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The Ramsey Farms site where a weekend fire burned down the main caretaker house.
It was a busy weekend for local volunteer fire fighters. The Mount Ayr fire department was called in response to a fire reported near Redding on Saturday, January 18 at 2:45 p.m. .
Seven volunteer fire fighters responded to the small corn field fire around the intersection of 310th and 170th, and used roughly 50 gallons of water to extinguish the flames.
Later that afternoon, an alarm alerted dispatchers to a potential fire at Mount Ayr Health Care at 5:15 p.m. Travis Hinz confirmed a sensitive heat sensor did alert dispatchers there was a potential fire, but there did not end up being any emergency.
“There was no concern here,” stated Hinz.
However, fire fighters returned to Mount Ayr Health Care on Sunday evening to refill their water tanker using a nearby hydrant for a separate incident east of town. While overflow water from the hydrant left half the Mount Ayr Health Care parking lot covered in ice, fire burned down Aunt Jennie’s house at Ramsey Farms.
The fire was initially reported at 5:49 p.m. on Sunday, January 19 at 2285 270th Ave, Mount Ayr. At 6:20 p.m., the Mount Ayr Fire Department, Ringgold County Sheriff Office, EMA/911 Coordinator Melissia Stark, Ambulance, and surrounding area fire departments were all notified of the fire.
Location of the reported fire at Ramsey Farm.
According to the fire station record book, a team of eleven volunteer fire fighters from Mount Ayr responded to the blaze. Upon arriving at the scene, Mount Ayr immediately dumped the water from their tanker truck into a porta tank, and the tanker headed back to Mount Ayr to refill. Kellerton, Tingley/Ellston, and Diagonal tanker trucks also arrived on scene to help battle the fire if needed. The water from the Kellerton tanker was also used to battle the blaze, while several other trucks froze up waiting on standby.
Ryan England, a volunteer member of the Diagonal fire department noted a space heater was believed to be the source of the fire.
“Several space heaters were running, and one most likely shorted out,” stated England.
His crew ended up leaving the scene early, although the fire was pretty well under control. Cold conditions froze the water in their fire truck, and they headed back to Diagonal to warm the truck up in the garage.
According to Mount Ayr volunteer Ed Rotert, they are still investigating the cause of the fire.
“The house was a total loss,” said Rotert.
While the fire was under control, they let it burn down, and Rotert continued to monitor the fire for about an hour and a half to make sure nothing re-ignited.
All that remained the next morning was a smoldering heap of rubble where the old farm house used to stand.
Lesanville Inn and Ramsey Farm Pavilion event center were established by Paul A. Ramsey in the 1990’s on the historic site of the 1850’s Lesan farm.
Ramsey spent many of his childhood summers with his Aunt Jennie and Uncle George Vance at the Lesan farm after school was out for the year. His cousins, Helen (Mrs. Wayne Anderson) and Margaret (Mrs. Bernard Dufty), were like sisters to him.
Ramsey moved to Mount Ayr and stayed with his grandparents, Clyde and Jessie (Fullerton) Lesan for two years during the Great Depression. He attended Mount Ayr school during that time, and later graduated from North High School after moving back to Des Moines with his mother.
Ramsey wanted to share his fond experiences of farm life with others. In 2001, he established a non-profit organization called the Ramsey Farm Foundation along with members of the community, to rebuild the farm and the tiny town of Lesanville.
Ramsey donated nearly $400,000 to the effort, and a $100,000 grant from the state-appropriated Vision Iowa fund helped create a replica 1930’s farm and bed-and-breakfast.
Artist Rendering of Ramsey Farm
While the pavilion is no longer being rented out for events, the bed and breakfast houses were still rented out through 2024. It is unclear why there were occupants in any of the houses as of this publication date.
