Multiple fire departments were called to the scene of a house fire Wednesday morning near Copper Creek Lake Park, northeast of the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
Capt. Ryan Evans with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said fire crews were called to a home in the 4400 block of NE 19th Avenue at 5:50 a.m. on a report of a fire. The home is located on a dead-end street in unincorporated Polk County.
When fire crews first arrived on the scene they saw smoke and flames coming from the rear of the home.
Two people were able to escape the home safely. No injuries have been reported.
The preliminary cause of the fire is believed to be a grill or smoker on the back side of the house, according to Capt. Evans. The fire isn’t considered suspicious.
WHO-TV NBC 13 Des Moines
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VIDEO: While new technology and gear have made firefighters’ jobs safer over the years, it still comes with plenty of risks. But some situations can make their jobs even more dangerous.
The Cedar Rapids Assistant Fire Chief said hoarding impacts everyone from the homeowner, to family and friends and even neighbors.
On the surface it can look like those who are hoarding just don’t want to clean up -- but in reality, it is usually a much deeper problem.
”You’re talking about adding hundreds and hundreds of pounds of fuel,” said Andy Olesen.
Andy Olesen, Assistant Fire Chief for the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, said hoarding homes are especially difficult to fight fires in.
“Hoarding can kind of turn that whole process upside down. You might have a room that people would describe as filled with garbage up to your shoulders. And when you enter a room like that or enter a house like that, it’s nearly impossible to orient yourself in any manner,” said Olesen.
KCRG-TV ABC 9 Cedar Rapids
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VIDEO: When James Clack learned that Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed Tuesday, memories of a similar disaster from earlier in his career came flooding in.
Clack retired from his role as the Ankeny Fire Department Chief in 2023, but before he came to Iowa, Clack spent over two decades as a fire chief in Minneapolis.
On Aug. 1, 2007, he and his wife had dinner reservations to celebrate their wedding anniversary, but those plans were interrupted. Just after 6 p.m., Clack was dispatched to respond after the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River.
“Most firefighters don't plan on a bridge collapse. We do think about structure collapse all the time, technical rescue, but not a bridge collapse," he told Local 5.
Since that day, Clack has thought about that bridge collapse, in which 13 people died and over 100 were injured, quite often.
WOI-TV ABC 5 Ames
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