A prompt response by officers of the Adel Police Department and Dallas County Sheriff’s office prevented a grease fire in an Adel apartment house from growing into a full-scale conflagration Sunday night and ending the sweet corn weekend on a very sour note.
The fire was reported about 9:45 p.m. Sunday in unit 16 of the Sunrise Apartment Cooperative at 1404 Greene St.
“There was a great initial response by the Dallas County Sheriff’s office and Adel Police Department,” said Adel Volunteer Fire Department Captain Matt Ireland. “They deployed the initial fire suppression, fire extinguishers, and both departments did an amazing job of keeping things in that kitchen.”
Law enforcement initiated the evacuation of the three-story, 12-unit apartment house. One resident with impaired mobility was assisted by firefighters and emerged unharmed, Ireland said, and one person was transported by Dallas County EMS for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters contained the blaze to a single unit of the 29-year-old building. The fire was fully extinguished by 10:05 p.m., and residents began to return to their quarters by 10:30 p.m.
“There was no real structural damage,” Ireland said, “a little bit of water damage, a little bit of fire extinguisher damage, just some cleanup to be done.”
The Dallas Center Volunteer Fire Department, Waukee Fire Department and West Des Moines Fire Department were paged for mutual aid.
“I really give the initial response by the occupant as well as the Adel Police Department and Dallas County Sheriff’s office the credit,” Ireland said. “They really were a significant contributing factor to making this as nice and easy as it was. Without the occupant’s fast response and law enforcement’s fast response, it could have been a lot more serious a deal.”
