C.R. Firefighters battle blaze at Ozark St. NE house

CEDAR RAPIDS - Firefighters battled a blaze Friday afternoon at a single-family residence at 4520 Ozark St. NE.

Cedar Rapids Fire Battalion Chief Andrew Olesen said when firefighters arrived, flames and heavy smoke could be seen from the street. The residence was empty when the fire started, he said.

Firefighter were able to extinguish initial blaze on the main floor of the resident quickly, Olesen said, but remained on scene for about two more hours, searching out and extinguishing 'hidden pockets of fire.”

'We (had) an extensive operation going on there,” he said. 'There (were) several pockets of fire underneath the house that needed to be extinguished.”

The fire department closed Ozark Street for two to three hours while they worked to put the fire out.

As of 4:30 p.m. Olesen said the road had opened back up but one engine company and the fire investigator remained on scene.

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