Fire heavily damages Cedar Rapids home

CEDAR RAPIDS – An overnight fire heavily damaged a home on the 1000 block of 19th Avenue SW.

According to a news release from the Cedar Rapids Fire Department, Jeremy Elkin, 33, was outside of his one-story residence boxing up items in a detached garage. Just before 2 a.m., he returned to the home to find smoke coming from the front and fire showing out of a ventilation hole in the front gable.

Upon arrival, firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the front eaves. Fire crews entered through the front door, crawled through thick smoke, and found fire in the kitchen area and two adjacent bedrooms. Fire also had already spread into the attic area.

The fire department said there was significant fire, heat and smoke damage to at least three rooms on the main floor and  heavy smoke damage throughout the remainder of the home. A significant part of the ceiling had to be removed to extinguish fire in the attic.

Elkin was the only occupant home at the time of the fire. The rest of the family, which includes Elkin's wife and a 19-month old daughter, were at their new residence, as Elkin was in the process of moving and selling the property. While most of the furniture had been previously moved, the moving process was not complete, so some boxes of personal items and kitchen appliances were destroyed by the fire.

There were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.