Investigators Seek Cause Of Sixth Avenue Fire In Des Moines

DES MOINES, IA — Two of the properties that burned in a three-alarm fire on Sixth Avenue in Des Moines on Monday completely destroyed. The condition of the third building has not yet been determined, a fire department official sad Tuesday.

Department spokesman Brian O'Keefe said the brick and mortar building at 1412 Sixth Ave., the business G&R Bookkeeping, is connected to the structure at 1416 Sixth Avenue that appears to be a home but also is a commercial building used mainly for storage of 50 years worth of the bookkeeping company's documents. The fire appeared to have started in the rear of the connected buildings, he said.

Firefighters rescued two people who were trapped inside, but O'Keefe said Tuesday their identities have not yet been released. He said the building has been known to attract homeless people in the area.

"There's some history of people — homeless and squatters — accessing that building," he told Patch. "We had to force open a portion of the building and remove the two people who were in the structure who were trapped."

The two were transported to an area hospital for treatment, but their conditions were unknown Tuesday.

The fire began shortly after a third alarm had gone out on a separate fire at Plaza Lanes bowling center a few miles to the north. The fires were the first of that magnitude in the capital city since March 2014, when the downtown Younkers building burned.

O'Keefe said the third crew was actually en route to assist at the bowling alley fire when it was diverted to battle the blaze on Sixth Avenue. By the time firefighters arrived, "there was a heavy fire load to the structure," O'Keefe said. "It grew and developed rapidly so we went almost immediately into a defensive posture."

Dispatchers called for mutual aid from Johnston, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights and crews worked to suppress the fire for more than 12 hours.

Fighting two major fires simultaneously required using resources from all 10 of the city's fire stations — most exclusively at the Plaza Lanes fire — but O'Keefe said shuffling personnel and equipment to different areas of the city to ensure adequate coverage "is done on a routine basis. We'll reposition equipment throughout the city as needed. They are prepared, and (dispatchers) know staffing levels, all the time."

The Sixth Avenue fire also damaged a business to the south of G&R Bookkeeping in a building that formerly housed the nonprofit community service group Urban Dreams. O'Keefe said Tuesday that investigators had not assessed the amount of damage there to know whether the building was structurally sound.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Conditions of the people pulled from the building were not available Tuesday.

Patch photo by Melissa Myers