Cedar Rapids Fire Crews Battle Obviously Suspicious Fire

By Dave Franzman, Reporter

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By Ashley Hinson

Story Created: Nov 19, 2009 at 6:14 AM CST

Story Updated: Nov 19, 2009 at 5:18 PM CST

CEDAR RAPIDS - The early morning fire in Cedar Rapids burned one home to the ground and seriously damaged two others.

The fires started on 19th Avenue S.W. in Czech Village at about 5:45 a.m. Thursday morning. Firefighters say all the homes involved at 54, 56 and 60 19th Avenue S.W.,sit in the middle of a block abandoned due to severe flood damage.

Firefighters say there was no one living in the homes or working to repair them. All the utilities were turned off. Firefighters can only call it "suspicious" for the moment until an investigation is finished.

The fact all the homes sat in an abandoned block in the flood zone made it difficult to fight the fire. One 9-1-1 caller was the closest neighbor to the area--but lived at least a block away. So the fire had a huge head start by the time firefighters got a call.

Greg Buelow, Fire Department Information Officer, said "flames were coming out--the roof had already collapsed and the heat was so intense that it caught the siding of the two adjacent structures on fire."

Buelow said firefighters searched the adjacent homes to make sure no one was inside. He called all three homes a total loss--although all had no real value since the June 2008 flood anyway.

Buelow says he can't call it arson until investigators finish their work. But one explanation may be vandals setting a fire in the first abandoned home. Another possibility is some "squatting" or staying illegally in an abandoned home and setting it on fire by accident.

Either explanation concerns those trying to rehab areas nearby.

One resident, Willard Price, said "if it was me living in this area, I'd be very concerned--why not? You're rebuilding your home and something like this happens it could spread."

One fire official said despite the obvious temptation to an arsonist, fires at abandoned homes in the flood zones haven't happened too often. Records show about a half dozen incidents in the nearly year and a half time period since June 2008.

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