On Wednesday, November 29, 2017 at 07:32 p.m. the Epworth Fire Department was notified by the Dubuque County 911 Center of a fully involved barn fire at 23473 Seymour Lane, rural Epworth. Upon arrival, firefighters found a 60x80 farm building fully involved. The barn had farm machinery and 44 corn stock bales inside. The farm is owned by Jim and Lisa Seymour. Mutual aid assistance was provided by the Centralia/Peosta Fire Department, Holy Cross and Farley Fire Department tankers. 22 Firefighters responded and remained on the scene for over four hours. The building is considered a total loss. Damage is estimated $75,000. The Epworth Fire Department was also assisted at the scene by the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office and Maquoketa Valley REC. The cause of the fire is undetermined and is not considered to be suspicious in nature. There was no damage to any nearby structures and no injuries reported.