MASON CITY – A space heater jammed into a crawl space to prevent frozen pipes led to a fire incident at a Mason City house.
Randy Elsbernd, Assistant Deputy Chief Mason City Fire Department, reports that on February 20, 2025, at 9:54 AM, the Mason City Fire Department responded to a report of black smoke coming from a house at the intersection of 15th St NW and N. President Ave. The fire department arrived and found smoke coming from the house at 137 15th St NW.
At the scene, firefighters quickly gained access to the house to perform a search for occupants while extinguishing the fire located in a kitchen wall behind the stove. The cause of the fire was accidental from an electric space heater in the crawl space used to keep water pipes from freezing.
No one was home at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.
The Mason City Fire Department remained on scene until 12:19 p.m. and was assisted by the Mason City Police Department, Mason City Street Department and Alliant Energy.
While they make your living space more comfortable in cold temperatures, it is important to note that space heaters are responsible for almost one-third of house fires in the United States, annually, NIT reported.