Police say Cedar Rapids woman removed smoke detector at apartment fire scene

Susan R. Heins, who accidentally started a fire at a Cedar Rapids apartment building last month, is charged with removing the smoke detector from an apartment damaged by fire last month.

Heins, 34, of 1636 A Ave. NE, made an initial appearance Thursday morning on a charge of tampering with a smoke detector, a simple misdemeanor, court documents said. She was released pending a later hearing.

According to the complaint, Heins “admitted she had taken down the smoke detector that the landlord had installed” at 433 Fourth Ave. SW.

The fire that started in a second-floor apartment about noon Jan. 4 caused heavy damage but no injuries. The fire's cause hasn't been determined.

Neighbors in the building reported seeing Heins running from the area as firefighters arrived.

Fire department spokesman Greg Buelow confirmed Heins fell asleep on a couch with a cigarette in her hand and awoke to find the couch on fire.

Because the smoke alarm was rendered inoperable, there was no early warning and the fire progressed rapidly undetected, Buelow wrote in an email.