One person was killed and two others were injured in a house fire late Sunday night in Ames. Susan Gwiasda is a spokesperson for the city of Ames.
“Two residents were able to escape the fire by jumping from second story windows,” Gwiasda says. “Later on, as firefighters were able to go through the home, unfortunately they located a resident who did not make it out.”
The name of the man who died in the fire has not been released. The men who were injured and treated at an Ames hospital are identified as 27-year-old Carl Boese and 26-year-old Lin Yang. It’s unclear what may’ve sparked the fire. “At this point, the State Fire Marshal, along with the Ames Fire investigation team, continues to do research at the scene. We don’t have a cause at this point,” Gwiasda says.
Firefighters reported the house was “full involved” when they arrived on the scene of the fire just after 11 p.m. The fire was too intense for crews to enter the home, located at 1322 Illinois Avenue, and it took several hours to extinguish. There’s no word yet if the home had working smoke alarms.
“We don’t know what the situation was with smoke detectors. That’s part of the investigation,” Gwiasda says.