Fire heavily damages Cedar Rapids house, singes woman’s hair

CEDAR RAPIDS – Fire heavily damaged the home of a Cedar Rapids business owner and singed the hair on his daughter's head Monday.

Firefighters from at least six departments responded to the Doug D. DeLong residence at 2000 Hickory Nut Lane SE when the fire was reported around 11:40 a.m. No injuries were reported, but DeLong's daughter said she fears her cats may have died in the blaze.

“This is my home of 20 years,” said the distraught daughter, who declined to give her name.

Capt. Rick Jurgens of the West Bertram Fire Department said the damage was contained to the upper level of the A-frame house, but said vaulted ceilings had collapsed. Most of the damage was in the area of bedrooms above a garage.

Jurgens said several departments were called to haul water to the scene, because there are no hydrants near the property, located just outside of the Cedar Rapids city limits. Strong wind gusts fueled the flames.

“We did the best we could,” Jurgens said. “We had water here as soon as possible.”

Kaye Ross, 57, rents a basement apartment in the house and was home when the fire broke out. She she grabbed her cat and some pictures before getting out safely.

“I saw this black cloud, smelled the smoke and ran outside,” Ross said. “Immediately, I knew what was happening.”

Ross said DeLong's daughter and her friend were upstairs. They also were able to escape.

DeLong owns the Longbranch Hotel and Conference Center in Cedar Rapids. The home was assessed at $323,000 last year, according to the Linn County assessor's website.

An investigation was under way to determine the cause of the fire, Jurgens said.

[gallery columns="2"]