Campaign business damaged by fire

By Lisa Hobbs

Rock Island and Collins River fire departments are continuing to monitor the fire while an investigation is under way into numerous items discovered missing from Rock Island Truck and Equipment Sales.

Collins River and Rock Island-Campaign Fire Departments responded to a call Wednesday evening reporting a fire which damaged Rock Island Truck and Equipment Sales in Campaign, a business owned by Russell Daum.

According to Tara Daum, who works at the business with her father, they were alerted to the fire when a family friend stopped by the business to pick up a tool and noticed smoke coming from the back of the building where hay, equipment and tools are stored.

‘My father’s friend stopped by at about 9 p.m. to pick up a tool before taking a trip and that is when they discovered the fire,’ said Tara. ‘He called us. We would have lost the whole place if they hadn’t gone into the back.’

While the fire departments battled the blaze in an effort to save the building, the family noticed that a service van and tools were missing. The missing items led them to suspect arson as the cause of the fire.

‘We believe someone broke in and took the items and then set the fire on their way out,’ said Tara. ‘Because the fire was a small one, we believe the break-in and fire happened at about 8:30 p.m.’

The fire caused the roof toward the back of the building to collapse. It is uncertain at this juncture if the business will need to close until repairs are made.

‘We just don’t know at this time,’ said Tara. ‘We don’t know what is going to happen. It is just tragic. At least we saved the building. We’ve got a little bit of a mess but at least it didn’t all go up in flames.’

The value of the items taken is estimated at over $10,000. The official police report was not available at press time yesterday.