MADRID, Iowa — Fire crews across central Iowa battled two large fires that both resulted in the deaths of loved ones. One fire resulted in the death of a husband and another fire the loss of two pets.
Fire crews arrived at a fire in Granger and found a lone female outside the house. She was not injured, but believed her husband was inside. Searchers later found 80-year-old Dennis Felt dead inside the home. The State Fire Marshall’s Office is assisting in the investigation. The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental.
There were 14 fire departments on scene at the Dallas County Fire. Granger was the lead fire department as the home was in their fire district. They were joined by Woodward, Bounton, Adel, Minburn, Perry, Dallas Center, Madrid, Ankeny, Johnston-Grimes, Polk City, Clive, Urbandale, and Waukee. Ambulance crews from Dallas County, Ankeny and Granger, were on hand. Dallas and Polk County Sheriff’s officers were there also.
There was a large response for a fire on R Avenue, just north of Madrid. The fire started around 5 p.m. on New Year’s day. As the evening wore on, water had to be hauled, and that proved a challenge to get enough water to put the fire out.
“That was our biggest hurdle to jump over just because our water source wasn’t prevalent in that area so we had to go back to Madrid to fill trucks,” said Madrid Fire Chief Randy Pecenka. “With us not having water, unfortunately we are unable to save the structure itself.”
Pecenka said no one was injured, but two dogs died in the fire. The family who lived in the house was not at home when the fire started.
There is an effort on Facebook to help the family impacted by this fire.
The Madrid Fire Department and Rescue was assisted by Boone Fire Department, Woodward, Slater, Huxley, Boone Search and Rescue, Boone County Ambulance, Boone County Sheriff, Iowa State Patrol, and the Boone Area Humane Society.
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