Des Moines Sixth Avenue Fire Burns Three Buildings

DES MOINES, IA — Firefighters from three area departments assisted Des Moines crews in battling a blaze Monday morning that involved a house, a business and a vacant building in the 1400 block of Sixth Avenue. The fire started in the home at 1416 Sixth Ave.

Fire officials said they pulled two people from the home shortly after the fire was reported around 5:30 a.m. Their injuries were non-life-threatening.

Sixth Avenue and Seventh Street were closed between Forest Avenue and Clark Streets for more than 12 hours as crews from West Des Moines, Windsor Heights and Johnston assisted in containing the blaze.

At the same time, most of Des Moines' fire apparatus was battling a second three-alarm fire, called in less than an hour earlier, that destroyed Plaza Lanes bowling center at 2701 Douglas Ave., only a few miles away.

"Because of that one being such a big alarm, it really stripped us of our resources," Lt. Rick Thomas, spokesman for the Des Moines Fire Department, said. "We still had units we could send. It makes it tough."

The Sixth Avenue fire spread south to neighboring G&R Bookkeeping at 1412 Sixth Ave., owned by Terry and Jane Romp, and the former home of the nonprofit community resource group Urban Dreams at 1410 Sixth Ave.

No report was available Monday night on the extent of the damage.