Geneva Tower fire caused by smoking materials left unattended

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids fire investigators have determined a fire at Geneva Tower last week was started when smoking materials were left unattended too close to combustible materials.

The combustible materials caught fire in a room on the ninth floor of the high-rise. Firefighters were on the scene shortly after midnight Feb. 19 and battled the blaze through the early hours of Feb. 20.

A Monday news release from Cedar Rapids officials states fire investigators determined the cause of the fire from interviews, both on- and off-scene, and coordination with other investigative entities.

The release did not provide more details about the specific materials.

Geneva residents have been staying in a Red Cross shelter at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.

The Affordable Housing Network, which owns Geneva Tower, will be working with Linn County Emergency Management and the Cedar Rapids Police Department to discuss fire prevention and safety with residents in the next few weeks, according to a news release from the Affordable Housing Network.

The network has been working with the city to determine when residents will be able to move back into their apartments. Residents will be returned to the building in phases, since some floors took more damage than others.

In the meantime, volunteers have helped provide things like food and clean laundry to the displaced residents.

To help

As the Affordable Housing Network prepares to move residents back in, it is asking for donations of new household items. Anyone interested in donating, or volunteering to help in other ways, can contact Nicole Ragsdale at nragsdale@four4oaks.org

Those interested in helping Geneva Tower residents can also make monetary donations to the Affordable Housing Network or the American Red Cross.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com