Burger King goes up in flames

The Newton Fire Department worked to battle a blaze at Burger King throughout the morning and into the afternoon Saturday. Crews received the call at about 6:15 a.m. alerting them to the fire which started at the rear of the building at 705 First Ave. E.

“It is pretty extensive damage,” NFD Chief Jarrod Wellik said. “Most of the roof has collapsed in the kitchen area, that is where the main fire was. The front received very heavy smoke and water damage. I’m guessing it’ll probably have to be torn down.”

The First Avenue staple had flames shooting out of the center section of the building and kept the department working well into the afternoon to tame the fire.

“When we got here, there was a lot of really heavy smoke from the roof,” Wellik said. “Within probably 15 minutes of our arrival the roof collapsed and we had fire out of the roof almost immediately.”

The fast food restaurant’s location was a benefit to the department as it worked to extinguish the burn. The large parking lot and wrap around drive gave crews ample amount of space to work without disturbing city traffic.

“We were able to pull everything off of First Avenue and leave it open so we didn’t have to bottle up traffic in town,” Wellik said.

At the start of the incident both Baxter and Kellogg’s fire departments assisted in the work. As the hours ticked on, Newton took over the task, using the ladder truck to reach center of the building.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and the investigation is ongoing.

“It is a tragedy,” Wellik said. “Any time a business has a fire, you hate to see that.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com