On the evening of Feb. 2, a fire broke out of undetermined causes at the Backus City Hall. On the other side of the meeting hall was a door leading into the Backus Fire Hall, providing possibly the fastest response possible in what could have otherwise been a much bigger fire. The fire appears to have been in a hallway between the city hall offices and the city hall meeting room. The fire call went out at 5:55 p.m. and the fire crew was able to immediately prevent significant damage to the building. Firefighters had two tasks to take immediate action on - one group attacked the fire while the other removed firefighting equipment and vehicles from the adjoining fire hall should the fire get beyond control. The cause is under investigation by a fire marshal; however, the damage was limited primarily to the hallway where the fire seemed to originate. The city offices and all paperwork and records remained untouched.