Fire destroys garage, storage building in NW Cedar Rapids

From the Cedar Rapids Fire Department:

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Two buildings were destroyed and another building was damaged by an afternoon fire at 1668 13

^th

Street NW. Firefighters were called to the five acre property at 5:09 p.m. and arrived to find two buildings fully involved with fire.

Duane McLean, age 76, was borrowing a ladder from a next-door neighbor when they noticed smoke coming from a storage building. As they ran back to McLean's property, fire spread from the storage building to a one-stall detached wooden garage that was built in 1890. McLean was able to move a 1965 John Deere tractor from the garage before it was consumed with flames.

Firefighters were able to contain the fires from spreading to the nearby residential property, however an adjacent two-stall garage sustained significant heat damage that melted the structure's siding.

The cause of the fire was determined to have originated from a wood-burning stove in the storage building. A southwesterly wind at 4 mph was able to cause the fire to spread fairly quickly between buildings.

There were no injuries reported.

The Fire Department reminds citizens of the importance of not leaving heating equipment unattended.  It is also important that there is at least a three foot area around heating equipment that is clear of combustible materials.

No further information is available at this time.