MASON CITY – The Mason City Fire Department responded to an alarm for a fire in a building under construction reported by a passing motorist at 2357 hours on February 21, 2013.
The building is located at 3310 9th Street S.W. and is owned by Legacy Mason City, LP.
On arrival, responding units reported flames and smoke showing from the southeast
corner of the north/south wing near the natural gas meter. The second floor collapsed a
short time later. The fire was extinguished within 30 minutes. Alliant Energy was
notified and responded to shut off utilities. The department remained on scene until 0300
hours.
The building involved it a 3-story 48 unit wood-framed apartment complex. Framing
was complete or in progress on the second floor. The east-west portion of the building
received only minor damage.
The fire started in that portion of the structure that contained a temporary construction
heater that had been placed into operation earlier that day. Probable cause of the fire is a malfunction of the construction heater or its chimney system that may have ignited
nearby construction materials.
