1 dead, 3 injured in Cedar Rapids apartment building fire

CEDAR RAPIDS — One person died and three were hospitalized after a fire broke out Tuesday at an apartment building in northeast Cedar Rapids, stranding some tenants inside who pleaded to be rescued.

Firefighters were called to the apartment building at 210 19th St. NE at 2:13 p.m. for reports of smoke and fire. Police arrived first and began evacuating people from the building, and firefighters arrived shortly after.

“By that time, the building had already filled with smoke and people were pounding on the windows needing to be rescued,” said Andy Olesen, the Cedar Rapids assistant fire chief. The fire was located on the third floor.

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Firefighters and police removed several people from the building on ladders through apartment windows, and three people were sent to the hospital for “smoke and fire-related injuries,” according to a news release from the city. No police officers or firefighters were injured.

One person initially was described by Olesen as being critically injured, but later died. She was identified Wednesday as Wasfia Elshennawy, 71.

At least two cats were killed, and more pets were missing

Chris Cornell lives down the street from the fire and said he could smell it from his house. His grandfather and father-in-law live in the apartment building, and Cornell said he took off running down the street when he heard the address on a police scanner, which he’d been listening to because of a different incident down the street at the roughly the same time.

Cornell was able to get reach his family members and he learned they weren’t home at the time of the fire. But they’ve likely lost a many of their belongings, he said.

“It’s a lose-lose situation for a lot of people,” Cornell said.

All on-duty Cedar Rapids fire crews, plus crews from Hiawatha and Marion, responded to the fire. Off-duty Cedar Rapids firefighters were called in to cover stations around the city, the news release said. As of 3:30 p.m., firefighters were still battling smoke on the scene.

The fire department said it will work with the Red Cross to help those who have been displaced by the fire. The cause of the fire was determined to be “accidental,” according to the news release, which did not provide details.

So far in 2023, 26 people have died in fires throughout the state, according to data based on completed investigations compiled by the Iowa Department of Public Safety. That is down from the 48 deaths investigated in 2022.

Until now, the only fatal fire this year in Cedar Rapids was May 18, when Mia Schmidt died in a garage fire in southwest Cedar Rapids, according to the state data.

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