Smoking materials cited as cause of southwest Cedar Rapids apartment fire

CEDAR RAPIDS — Discarded smoking materials are being blamed for an apartment fire that displaced residents Monday night.

According to public safety spokesman Greg Buelow, firefighters were called to Hawthorne Hills, 2273 C St. SW., at 10:08 p.m. Monday after Cedar Rapids police officers noticed a fire near a maintenance building attached to a two-story apartment building. The officers helped evacuate residents from the building before the fire department's arrival.

By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, the fire had spread from the maintenance building to the rest of the apartment building. Crews evacuated the rest of the building's residents and worked to suppress the fire, Buelow said.

Holes were cut in the roof of the building to remove smoke and heat, but crews were forced to pull down the ceiling and walls of the building to stop the spread of the fire. Buelow said two apartment units were destroyed and four others sustained 'significant damage.'

Investigation into the fire showed it started in an outside trash can next to the maintenance building, most likely from discarded smoking materials, officials said. The fire then spread to the maintenance building, into the eaves and then spread through the attic space of the buildings.

No injuries to civilians or firefighters were reported.

The Grant Wood Chapter of the American Red Cross is helping the displaced residents.