Officials: No working smoke alarms in fatal fire at Cedar Rapids mobile home

CEDAR RAPIDS - There were no working fire alarms inside the mobile home that caught fire Monday morning.

Ronald Jacobs, 76, was declared dead at the scene of the fire. Karen Jacobs, also 76, is being treated for life-threatening injuries at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Cedar Rapids firefighters were called to a fire at the mobile home at 3701 16th Ave. SW at 7:34 a.m. Monday. Responding crews encountered flames coming from a window in the unit. Firefighters found Ronald and Karen Jacobs on the floor of the living room of the unit.

Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said the official cause of the fire has been listed as undetermined. However, investigators determined the fire started in a couch in the living room. The couch was destroyed by the blaze, so investigators cannot say with certainty how the fire started.

'We believe smoking materials found near the couch are a contributing factor to the fire,” Buelow said.

While it is unclear if a smoke alarm would have made a difference in this case, Buelow said a majority of the fatal fires in Cedar Rapids in recent years have been at residences without a working smoke alarm.

'With any type of fire, your means of being alerted that there's an issue is going to be that smoke alarm,” he said. 'It gives you precious seconds or minutes to be able to get out.”

The mobile home is a total loss.