Charles City and area firefighters respond to basement fire on a cold Sunday afternoon

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Floyd County firefighters answered a fire call on a cold Sunday afternoon when a Charles City home was reported filling with smoke.

Charles City Fire Department was dispatched at about 3:30 p.m. and the Floyd and Colwell departments were also called as is routine with reports of structure fires. The fire took place in the south unit of a two-family conversion residence in the 400 block of Cedar Street.

“Upon arrival a team made entry through the front door to find smoke and flames coming from the floor,” according to a report from the Charles City Fire Department. “The team identified that the flames were coming from the basement and quickly made entry to the basement.”

The firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames in the basement, and another team entered the main floor of the residence to check for additional fires and found the fire concentrated around an in-floor heater.

“The fire did cause damage to the floor on the main level but will be able to be repaired,” the report said.

The temperature was about minus 2 degrees while the firefighters were at the scene, with the wind chill making it feel even colder.