Firefighters from Audubon plus more than a half-dozen other communities responded to the scene of a structure fire in downtown Audubon early this afternoon. Audubon Fire Chief John Ballou told KJAN News the fire at 310 Broadway Street was reported at around noon. He said there was a little confusion at first because the noon whistle sounded at about the same time as the fire sirens were going off.

The Chief said when they arrived there was a fire on the second floor and smoke coming from the windows. The upper floor of the building was said to have been vacant. Audubon Mayor Sam Kauffman told KJAN the lower floor was a former daycare center, and is owned by Jonell Gaskill-Irlmeier. The lower floor was being used primarily for storage of documents and other items.

Crews from Adair, Atlantic, Brayton, Exira, Manning and Templeton all responded with mutual aid. Atlantic sent it’s ladder truck,while Templeton and Manning sent their tankers. A semi tanker loaded with water provided by a local farmer also was at the scene. Ballou said it was fortunate that several of the fire trucks had just been in Exira for the City’s 4th of July parade, and were able to respond quickly.

The flames were pretty much knocked down by around 3:30 pm, but a rekindle was reported just after 4-p.m. The roof, upper floor and part of the 1st floor eventually collapsed into the basement. The structure was considered a total loss. A business in an adjacent building sustained water damage. No injuries were reported. A cause of the blaze was not immediately available. An inspector with the State Fire Marshal’s Office is expected to be in Audubon Saturday, to try and determine the source of the fire.

Mayor Sam Kauffman said while he was grateful for the assistance from area fire departments, he especially wanted to thank the Atlantic Fire Department for sending it’s “quint,” or ladder truck equipped with a snorkel. He said that piece of equipment likely prevented the fire from spreading to the adjacent buildings and creating a major disaster.