Property management office likely “total loss” after morning fire

CEDAR RAPIDS - The home offices of a Cedar Rapids property management company are likely a total loss after a morning fire.

Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said firefighters responded to a fire at 1100 Old Marion Road NE at 6:22 a.m. The building houses High Property Management and High Development.

Tall flames lashed out from the roof of the building and thick smoke was visible for miles as crews fought the blaze from atop ladder trucks. Crews initially tried to fight the fire from inside the building, Buelow said.

'They found the building was full of moderate smoke from the floor to the ceiling,” he said, adding they also encountered 'very high heat.”

After the fire started showing from the roof about 45 minutes into the call, crews grew concerned about the structural integrity of the building and were forced to take a defensive approach, Buelow said.

Mark Krapfl, general manager of High Property Management, said the company's facilities director called in the fire when he entered the offices and saw smoke. Krapfl said the facilities director tried to find the origin of the flames, but encountered too much smoke.

'He did the right thing by just calling 911,” Krapfl said.

The facilities manager got out of the building without suffering any injuries, Krapfl said. No one else was in the office at the time of the fire.

'Thank god no one was in the building and everyone was out safe,” he said.

Krapfl said the fire was directly above the building's shop area, where maintenance workers store their inventory. Save for a gas can for a snowblower, Krapfl said he didn't know of any combustibles inside fueling the blaze.

'At this point, we have no idea what started the flames,” he said.

Krapfl said the next concern is salvaging the business' records. He said the company's server was located directly beneath where crews were fighting the fire, but that it has been backed up. Additionally, his office is located in another part of the building.

Buelow said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The Cedar Rapids Police Department and Area Ambulance also responded to the fire.