Fire in 900 block of E Ave. NW causes major damage to home, no one injured

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids Fire Department responded to a house fire around 11 p.m. Saturday in the 900 block of E Ave. NW.

According to a news release, the firefighters encountered heavy smoke on both levels of the single-family home, as well as visible flames coming out the backside of the structure.

A hole was cut in the roof of the home, allowing the smoke to escape more easily.

The firefighters were able to subdue the blaze, but major damage occurred throughout the home, the release states. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

No one was injured in the fire, and the American Red Cross responded to aid the displaced residents, Paula and Shawn Kelly and their two children, ages 19 and 14. The family also has two dogs and was renting the home.

Fire department officials said the house was found to not have working smoke detectors, but Paula Kelly said smoke detectors sounded to warn the family of the fire.

She said at the time of the fire, her husband and her brother had been cooking fish they caught that day. Her son, 19, also was home at the time of the fire.

'Within a few minutes of it catching fire we were out of the house,” she said. 'My husband was cooking fish and I was getting ready for bed. I came down the back steps and by then the ceiling in the kitchen was on fire.”

Paula Kelly said the Red Cross provided funds to pay for a hotel for two nights, food and some incidentals. She said The Salvation Army is paying for a hotel for two additional nights.

Beyond that, she said the couple's landlord, Bob Tietke, is allowing the family to move into another home he owns.

'I have a great landlord,” Paula Kelly said.

She said, so far, she's been able to salvage the dining room table and some clothes.

'We're just trying to go piece by piece and get as much as we can,” she said.