A very popular northeast Iowa dance hall has been damaged by fire. Fire fighters from five communities were called out at about 4:30 yesterday afternoon to Matter’s Ballroom in Decorah. Heavy smoke was coming out of the building, so fire fighters used a thermal imaging camera to find the source of the fire in the center of the building. The blaze was contained to the floor rafters. Over 50 fire fighters were on the scene until 11 o’clock last night. No one was injured. There’s major smoke and water damage to the landmark dance hall, but no dollar estimate yet on the losses. A heat lamp in the basement caused the blaze.
