A former Charles City nursing care facility was damaged by fire this weekend.
Charles City Fire Rescue (CCFR) says they were called shortly before 4:30 am Saturday (03.23) morning for flames showing from one of the windows at the old Cedar Health building. On arrival, crews were able to make entry from a side door immediately adjacent to the room that had previously had flames coming from it.
After thoroughly saturating the room, a search was performed to ensure the remaining rooms were not impacted. Firefighters were on the scene for about an hour-and-a-half with mutual aid from the Floyd and Colwell fire departments.
CCFR says determining the cause of the fire is challenging due to the condition of the room. The damage to the room was significant, but the construction of the building helped prevent the spread of the fire.
The fire comes as the one-time nursing facility, which closed in 2017, is being considered for possible reconditioning as an apartment complex. City Administrator Steve Diers says a developer has proposed the renovations in their application for $1 million in Affordable Housing tax credits through the Iowa Finance Authority’s designation of Charles City as a “Thriving Community.”
