Abandoned Cedar Rapids home catches fire again

CEDAR RAPIDS - A neighbor called a Cedar Rapids home that has caught fire twice in the last year and has been boarded up in the intervening months an 'eye sore.”

'I'd like to see it get torn down,” said Lois Stotler.

The Cedar Rapids Fire Department was called to 1207 34th St. NE at around 2 a.m. Friday for a report of a house and garage on fire. Authorities said the exterior of the house and garage were on fire at the time of their arrival. The fire was brought under control before it could spread into the interior of the home, the fire department said.

Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said that same property had a fire in July 2016.

Stotler, who lives at 1230 34th St. NE, said the property was boarded up after that and the renter who was living there never returned. That's the state it has remained in for months, Stotler said.

'It's just a pig sty,” she said. 'I and all of the rest of the neighbors are tired of looking at it.”

The property is owned by LK Properties LLC. Buelow said the property owner was served a Notice & Order for Repair or Demolition in September 2016.

John Riggs, manager of the city's building services division, said the notice requires the property owner to either make repairs to the property or demolish it. LK Properties LLC was given a 30-day deadline to respond and a six-day deadline to comply with the owner, Riggs said.

However, in February, the city filed a municipal infraction because the property owner had not yet complied with the notice. Now, a hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday.

'I will say that Building Services always tries to work with owners as much as possible prior to filing any municipal infraction,” Riggs said.

Robert O'Shea, owner of LK Properties LLC, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Buelow said investigators have determined Friday's fire was intentionally set. Last year's fire was unintentional - caused by a tenant working on a motorcycle that caught fire, he said.

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com