Single family home in NE Cedar Rapids a ‘total loss’ after Friday fire

CEDAR RAPIDS - One person was injured and a single family residence was declared 'a total loss” after the building was damaged by fire and smoke Friday afternoon.

According to a media release from the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, at 2:57 p.m. firefighters were called to 1617 Brookdale Ln. NE for a report that smoke was coming from the house.

As firefighters were originally dispatched, a man who had originally escaped the home went back inside, and was not accounted for. As firefighters arrived on the scene, they reported seeing flames now emerging from the front of the home and learned that the man had made it back outside.

According to the release, the first arriving crew of firefighters 'encountered heavy smoke and fire from the front of the house, with fire shooting from the basement windows.” Several crews then entered the home and the fire was brought under control, according to the release.

The man who went back into the home was transported to Mercy Hospital for smoke inhalation type injuries.

The Cedar Rapids Fire Department noted in the release that home occupants should never go back into a burning structure, as firefighters have specialized equipment and training that allows them to be safe while searching for 'people, items or pets,” The department in the release noted that an individual who re-enters a burning structure endangers not just themselvess, but the firefighters respoonding.

The CRFD was assisted with mutual aid from Hiawatha Fire Department, Area Ambulance Service and the Red Cross. Animal control was also called to assist, according to the release.

The three residents of the home were displaced by the fire, according to the release, as the damage inflicted on it by the fire rendered it a 'total loss.”

The release noted that the fire remains under investigation.