Unoccupied Cedar Rapids home likely a total loss after fire

CEDAR RAPIDS - An unoccupied Cedar Rapids home is likely a total loss after an early morning fire.

According to a Cedar Rapids Fire Department news release, crews were called to 1504 Sixth Ave. SE at 2:48 a.m. Friday for a report of a house on fire. Police on the scene said the front porch and first floor of the two-story home were on fire.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, the fire had spread to the second floor and was threatening two neighboring structures, the fire department said.

Crews worked to protect the neighboring buildings while also attacking the fire from outside the home. Firefighters moved inside to put out the fire and search for hot spots, which required 'significant overhaul,” authorities said.

The home is unoccupied and there were no injuries reported. The fire department said the home sustained significant damage and is 'likely a total loss.”

Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said the home has been vacant for four years. Because the fire originated in the living room on the first floor, investigators have concluded there is a 'human element” to the fire.

'No one was supposed to be in the house when the fire occurred,” Buelow said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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