Fire damages downtown Iowa City

IOWA CITY - A fast-moving four-alarm fire that raged for hours did considerable damage to a downtown block early Saturday.

According to the Iowa City Fire Department, the fire at Bruegger's Bagels, 225 Iowa Ave., was reported shortly after 2 a.m. Cameron Overcash, who lives in a nearby apartment, said he and a roommate were awakened by police and told to get out.

“We got out and looked out and saw Bruegger's and we saw flames on top of the building the size of a small campfire,” Overcash said. “We got some stuff and came down and probably in 20 minutes it blew up and there was fire everywhere.”

Overcash said he wasn't worried about the fire at first because it looked so small and he assumed firefighters would quickly get it under control.

However, the blaze took about five hours and the help of 11 neighboring fire departments to contain. Firefighters were forced out of the building for a time after what is believed to be a backdraft explosion made it unsafe to fight the fire from inside.

Iowa City Battalion Chief Brian Greer said there were four apartments located above Bruegger's and firefighters believed everyone evacuated.

“I helped another guy get out of the apartment upstairs with an officer, and we stepped downstairs thinking it would be over in a matter of minutes,” said Andrew Harvey, looking up as firefighters continued to fight the blaze. He said his apartment looked to be “pretty unliveable” now.

“Everything I have is gone ... thank God for renter's insurance,” he said.

“I have a cat up there,” he continued. “Best of luck to him.”

Greer said firefighters theorized the blaze may have started on either the main level or lower level of the bagel shop, but the investigation is just getting started. He said it might be days before any of the residents are allowed back inside.

The Bruegger's building was a total loss. Greer said a building at 13 Linn St., which houses the Yacht Club and Studio 13 bars also sustained significant smoke and water damage.

“I really hope that the club can reopen soon because I always go to the dance parties they host so I can support friends of mine that DJ every week,” said Oliver Nelson-Heern, 22, of Iowa City, while surveying the damage outside of the Yacht Club.

Studio 13 had been closed for several days. Its operators claimed on the business's Facebook page that a water pipe had burst. Records from the Iowa Department of Alcoholic Beverages also indicated the bar's liquor license had been suspended Sept. 15 because of an unpaid debt to the state. Efforts to reach Studio 13's managers were not successful.

Saturday's fire also jumped to the adjacent Van Patten House at 9 Linn St. The building, which dates to 1874 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, sustained major damage.

AKAR Design, 275 Iowa Ave., was affected, too. Co-owner Jigna Jani said she heard about the fire at 7:30 a.m. and rushed to the location.

Three hours later, Jani was allowed to enter her business to retrieve a few items with the assistance of a firefighter.

Jani said she found a lingering smell of smoke and more than 3 feet of murky water filling the lower level of her business.

“Our photography room, staff offices and inventory is down there,” Jani said. “We have a lot of pieces for upcoming shows and many things were floating in the water when we went down there.”

At 5:30 p.m., she had begun the process of removing the water by using small hoses and fans. The main floor of the business was damaged too, but Jani said it does not compare to the damage on the lower level.

"We will try to work hard to get back running as soon as possible - (this) morning all the water should be out and we will look at replacing the drywall downstairs,” Jani said. “We consider ourselves very lucky considering what happened next to us.”

Jani said she expects the business, which has insurance for water and fire damage, to be closed for about a week.

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