Tenants stop electrical fire from spreading at Central City apartments

Residents on the 50 block of West Broadway Street turned off breakers after a 9:30 p.m. call on July 15, limiting damage according to the 3rd Fire District.

By Jordan BeckPublished Jul 16, 2026, 7:40 PM CT · Updated Jul 26, 2026, 3:00 PM CT1 min read
TheCRPulseCRIME & SAFETYTenants stop electrical firefrom spreading at Central Cityapartments#central-city #fire

An electrical fire broke out at an apartment building on the 50 block of West Broadway Street in Central City on the night of Wednesday, July 15, 2026.

The 3rd Fire District received a call at approximately 9:30 p.m. for smoke coming out of outlets and a hot wall, the district said via KCRG.

Tenants turned off the electrical breakers for their apartments before evacuating, which fire officials credited with preventing the fire from spreading further.

Alliant Energy was called to remove meters for all apartments in the building to allow for safety inspections, according to the report.

The incident occurred in Linn County and involved the 3rd Fire District, which serves parts of the Cedar Rapids area.

Sources

  1. 1.Residents stop electrical fire from spreading at Central City apartmentsKCRG
  2. 2.‘It made a huge difference’ - How shutting off a breaker helped stop a fire in Central CityKCRG — News

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