DUBUQUE, Iowa — A fire in a first-floor unit of a 30-unit apartment building on West 17th Street in Dubuque on the evening of November 7 displaced the residents of 20 units, sent two residents and a firefighter to hospital with minor injuries, and caused an estimated $580,000 in damage, according to the Dubuque Fire Department. Firefighters rescued two occupants by ladder from the three-story building at 280 West 17th Street.
Source: Dubuque In Pursuit News, reporting the Dubuque Fire Department
KCRG-TV, the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, also reported the fire on November 8 under the headline 'Dozens displaced after Dubuque fire,' independently confirming that dozens of residents were forced out of the building.
Source: KCRG-TV
Ten minutes from dispatch to control
The Dubuque Fire Department was dispatched at 6:17 p.m. on November 7 to 280 West 17th Street, a three-story, 30-unit residential building. The first response brought three engines, two trucks, two ambulances and a shift commander — 19 personnel in all. Engine Company 1 arrived three minutes later, at 6:20 p.m., and reported heavy fire coming from a first-floor unit.
Source: Dubuque Fire Department, via Dubuque In Pursuit News
The incident commander upgraded the alarm, calling in two additional engines and another ambulance and bringing the total response to 26 personnel. Crews had water on the fire at 6:21 p.m., one minute after the first engine arrived. Other firefighters secured a water supply, searched the building a second time, set up backup hose lines, ventilated the structure and forced entry into several areas to support the attack and the removal of occupants. The fire was knocked down and declared under control at 6:27 p.m., ten minutes after dispatch. Crews then stayed on scene for salvage and overhaul work, hunting for hot spots and helping residents.
Source: Dubuque Fire Department, via Dubuque In Pursuit News
Ladder rescues — and the pets left behind
Firefighters removed two occupants from the building using ladders and helped numerous other residents get out. Two residents with minor injuries were taken to hospital by department ambulances, and one firefighter also sustained a minor injury. The Dubuque Police Department helped coordinate the evacuation of occupants from adjoining units, the Farley Fire Department provided air-bottle filling support, and Alliant Energy and Black Hills Energy assisted with controlling electric and gas service to the building.
Source: Dubuque Fire Department, via Dubuque In Pursuit News
The rescue did not end with the people. Police secured a cat and arranged shelter for it at the Dubuque Humane Society, reunited approximately six to ten dogs with their owners, and removed a dog from a balcony after the fire was under control — small details that show how completely an apartment fire upends a household in a single evening, pets included.
Source: Dubuque Fire Department, via Dubuque In Pursuit News
Twenty households with nowhere to sleep that night
Occupants of 20 units across two sections of the complex were displaced — two-thirds of the building, even though the fire itself started in a single first-floor unit. That is the arithmetic of apartment fires: smoke, water and shut-off utilities can make homes uninhabitable far beyond the unit that burned. The American Red Cross provided sheltering assistance, while other displaced residents stayed with family or friends. The building's owner, manager and maintenance personnel were notified and secured the building after emergency operations ended.
Source: Dubuque Fire Department, via Dubuque In Pursuit News
Cause still undetermined
The Dubuque Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire, which remains undetermined. The department put the damage at an estimated $580,000, against a total building value of $4,451,000 — and credited the response with saving an estimated $3,871,000 in property. No resident or firefighter was seriously hurt, and no deaths were reported.
Source: Dubuque Fire Department, via Dubuque In Pursuit News
Dubuque, a Mississippi River city in eastern Iowa near the Illinois and Wisconsin state lines, is the county seat of Dubuque County. For the families at 280 West 17th Street, the questions now are practical ones: when, if at all, they can return, what can be recovered from smoke- and water-damaged homes, and where they will stay in the meantime.
Fire investigators will work to determine where and how the fire started in the first-floor unit. Displaced residents of the 20 affected units are being assisted with shelter by the American Red Cross or are staying with family and friends, and the building has been secured by its owner and management while the investigation and damage assessment continue.
Awaaz Punjab will update this story when the Dubuque Fire Department releases its findings on the cause of the fire and residents begin returning to the building.
Source: Dubuque In Pursuit News