Fire damages flood-damaged Cedar Rapids home

Firefighters put out a blaze at an unoccupied home in the Cedar Rapids flood zone late Wednesday night.

Officials received a call shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday from a passerby, reporting a home on fire at 931 16th Ave. SE. When fire crews arrived, the back and a portion of the side of the house were fully consumed by flames, department spokesman Greg Buelow said.

Firefighters began an exterior attack with water from a nearby hydrant and also worked to extinguish the fire through the home's doors and windows. Buelow said the department was able to knock down the blaze with three sides of the home still standing.

At around 11:30 p.m., Buelow said officials would be bringing the fire under control shortly.

The home's lot was essentially vacant and the fire didn't pose a danger to anything nearby, Buelow said. Power lines near the house were also unaffected, he added.

The fire did not injure any firefighters or bystanders, Buelow said. The fire is the 34th such incident at a flood-damaged home since the 2008 flood, he said.

Buelow said the cause of the fire is undetermined, but he said in all likelihood, it involved "some human element" because no utilities were active in the area.

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