Damage is still being assessed after fire struck a downtown Des Moines hospital early this morning. Fire alarms sounded around 4:30 A.M. at Iowa Methodist Medical Center as flames were spotted on the hospital’s south side. Des Moines Fire Department spokesman Ted Jefferson says they’ve determined where the blaze started.He says the fire originated in one of the HVAC, or heating/ventilation/air conditioning, air handlers that vented into a smokestack. He says smoke filled some of the hallways, but fire crews responded quickly and extinguished the flames, fast enough that no patients had to be evacuated. No injuries are reported.
