Urbandale Fire Cleanup: Cobblestone 9 Theaters Remain Closed

URBANDALE, IA — An electrical malfunction on the roof led to a fire Monday afternoon at the AMC Classic Cobblestone 9 movie theaters in Urbandale. The theaters remain closed tonight while a restoration company continues cleanup.

Urbandale Fire Marshal Jon Rech said the fire was contained to the roof, where it started in wiring and ignited the foam and rubber membrane that waterproofs the roof. Theater patrons alerted management to the fire when they smelled smoke. Everyone was evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Rech said crews were able to extinguish the flames quickly, but work continued as the roofing material smoldered.

“We were on scene for probably two and a half hours,” he said. “Since it was on the roof, it was kind of labor intensive, having to pull some of the roof covering away to make sure there wasn’t more smoldering underneath.”

He said there was slight water damage inside the southwest corner of the building as a result, but the bulk of the cleanup for the property owners will come from smoke damage.

“There was no fire or heat damage to most of the theaters,” he said. The fire was ruled accidental.

Crews from Windsor Heights, Clive and West Des Moines assisted Urbandale Fire Department with the fire, Rech said.

A damage estimate was not available Tuesday night.

Photo via Urbandale Fire Department