Charles City Pizza Ranch catches fire

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

A fire broke out at the Charles City Pizza Ranch on Monday, May 6.

Firefighters were paged at 2:14 p.m. to respond to a fire that started on the northeast exterior of the restaurant, destroying the outdoor plants and severely damaging the exterior wall.

Charles City firefighter Lt. Justin Schuttler said that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but they have a strong possibility of how it started.

Video posted by passersby on social media showed plants burning on the side of the building before firefighters arrived.

The fire breached the wall of the building, resulting in smoke and water damage inside, however Schuttler did not feel the building would be a total loss.

“Most of it stayed on the exterior,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse.”

The Charles City Fire Department was assisted by firefighters from Floyd and Colwell. No injuries were reported and repair work was already underway on the building Monday evening.