Charles City building suffers severe damage from fire

CHARLES CITY – A building at a large manufacturer in Charles City suffered severe damage from fire Monday evening.

At 4:57PM Monday evening, the Charles City Fire Department (CCFD) responded to a report of smoke and fire coming from a building at Zoetis in Charles City. It was determined once on scene, that the fire was at 2640 7 Mile Road, just outside Charles City city limits.

When firefighters arrived, they found visible smoke and fire engulfing most of the western half of a building at the address. Since the actual fire was outside city limits, water supply was hampered initially with the lack of fire hydrants. Very gusty west-Northwest winds also caused the fire to spread rapidly throughout the rest of the main building.

The building housed chickens, and was just built over the last year. The building was officially opened in March of 2017. Nobody was in the building when the fire started.

CCFD responded with three engines, an aerial, a tanker, and two command vehicles, but due to the size of the fire, and the lack of water supply initially, other fire departments around the area were called to assist.

One firefighter was treated and released at the scene for a minor lower leg injury.

The structure is owned by Zoetis, LLC, according to Floyd County Assessor online records.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Charles City Fire Department and the Iowa State Fire Marshall’s Office. CCFD returned to the station at 10:40PM.

The CCFD was assisted on the scene by the Charles City Police Department, Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, AMR ambulance, Nora Springs Fire Department, Rudd Fire Department, Rockford Fire Department, Marble Rock Fire Department, Floyd Fire Department, Colwell Fire Department, Nashua Fire Department, Osage Fire Department, Floyd County Search and Rescue, Floyd County EMA, Charles City Water Department, Zoetis Maintenance and Management, Ron Hillegas, and Popp Excavating.