Center Point to unveil its new fire station

VIDEO: The Center Point Fire Department is ready to unveil its new $2 million fire station at an open house Saturday. Chief Doug Felton said the department has needed a new facility for the last several decades. He said the old building only a few blocks away was never meant to be a fire station and firefighters faced several issues. “We had a black mold issue, the roof leaked, and firefighters had to worry about being hit when trucks were leaving,” he said. All the equipment is now under one roof. Chief Felton said the department did hold fundraisers, but a bulk of the money came from a 2019 $2 million bond issue the community passed. Felton said it took years to get to this point because of the pandemic and supply chain issues. “There was some heartburn with it, but it was one of those things that we wanted to make sure it was done right,” said Mayor Traer Morgan.
KCRG-TV ABC 9 Cedar Rapids

Outbuilding and Garage Fire in Atlantic

The Atlantic Fire Department was called to 511 Front Street in Atlantic Thursday morning for an outbuilding Fire. Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel says the call went out at around 10:30 a.m. Chief Cappel said the cause of the fire has been deemed electrical. The homeowner was in the house at the time of the fire. There were no injuries. Cappel thanks the Atlantic Police Department and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office for assisting at the scene.
KSOM-FM 96.5 Audubon

Cedar County Emergency Management reflects on 6 months using new 911 radio network

VIDEO: Leaders with Cedar County Emergency Management are calling a six-month-old update to a 911 radio network life-changing. Up until October 2023, 911 dispatchers were operating on just one radio channel to communicate with law enforcement, paramedics, and firefighters. So if there was a fire call and a life-emergency call at the same time, they would have to interrupt either channel depending on each situation and how it unfolds. “Prior to this system, we couldn’t talk to the fire departments, ambulances, we were on a stand-alone system. We couldn’t talk with the state patrol or the surrounding counties,” said Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington. Now, they’re able to operate on multiple channels to serve more residents -- 99.2 percent of county residents, to be exact.
KCRG-TV ABC 9 Cedar Rapids

Appliance blamed for kitchen fire in Northwood

A faulty appliance is being blamed for a kitchen fire in Worth County. The Northwood Volunteer Fire & EMS Company says crews were called to the 500 block of 9th Street N around 5:19 pm Wednesday. Worth County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene first and used fire extinguishers to contain the flames. Firefighters then arrived to ventilate the home. The kitchen suffered moderate fire damage and there was smoke damage throughout the home. The cause of the fire has been ruled electric appliance failure. Northwood Fire & EMS responded to the scene with 11 firefighters, 1 fire engine, 1 ambulance and 1 brush truck.
KIMT-TV CBS 3 Mason City