Firefighters stomp blaze in southeast Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS – Firefighters snuffed a small fire at an empty house in southeast Cedar Rapids early Friday.

Firefighters were called about 7 a.m. to 1021 Ninth St. SE, about a block south of Mercy Medical Center.

“We just had heavy smoke coming from the front of the house,” Capt. Andy Oleson said.

A fire was burning in the wall and floor of a hallway. Firefighters quickly put the fire out, and made sure it hadn't spread.

“It was an odd place” in the house for a fire, Oleson said. The home was empty, and the Fire Department hadn't been able to reach the owner, Colbert Beets. Neighbors told firefighters the home was in transition, with one family moving out and another soon to move in.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, though an Alliant Energy worker showed up to cut power to the building.