State and local fire officials are still trying to determine the cause of a fire that killed three people in northeast Iowa on New Year’s Day. Fire crews from Arlington, Oelwein, Maynard and Fayette were called out about four A.M. Saturday to a trailer home about three miles southwest of Arlington in Fayette County.
Emergency personnel found the home engulfed in flames. Six people were living in the home and three died in the fire. The victims were identified as 73-year-old Gerald Rodenberg and two of his grandchildren, 6-year-old Henry Rodenberg and 5-year-old Ian Rodenberg.
Three others were taken to the hospital in Oelwein for treatment: 32-year-old Ian Patrick Rodenberg, his wife, 30-year-old Julia Rodenberg and another son, nine-year-old Christopher Rodenberg. No information is available on the extent of their injuries.
By Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein