Fueled by gusty winds, fast-moving fire destroys sprawling Ankeny home

A fast-moving two-alarm house fire that broke out Saturday afternoon in Ankeny claimed a couple's longtime home.

Deputy Chief Dan Schellhase of the Ankeny Fire Department said the fire was reported about 4:20 p.m. He said it apparently originated in a contractor's pickup truck parked in the driveway of the 9855 N.E. Frisk Drive home as workers were busy in the basement.

The National Weather Service had issued a red flag fire warning for much of Iowa earlier in the day, and Schellhase said that, fueled by the gusting winds and low humidity, the fire quickly spread to the garage a few feet from the truck and then to the attic of the large home. The couple who live there and the workers were able to escape without injury, he said.

Another complication was a bridge out south of the house on Frisk, but Schellhase said the fire department had been aware of it and knew to approach from the north.

He said the cause of the fire remained under investigation as firefighters continued to work into the evening to extinguish the still-smoldering fire.

Homeowner says explosion followed fire in truck

Homeowner Roger Spahr and wife Sändra watched from their yard as firefighters battled the blaze, drawing assistance from departments including Des Moines', Urbandale's and Saylor Township's.

Spahr said his wife had been outside when the fire started, while he was inside. He said the pickup truck started burning, "then something exploded." He said he was able to exit the house, though he "didn't realize it had gotten so bad so quick."

"They did everything they could," he said of the firefighters.

Spahr, 83, said he and his wife had lived in the home, built in 1974 by his late parents, since buying it in 2005 when his mother moved to a nursing home. He said they remodeled and expanded the original structure, which occupied a spacious lot, adding a four-car garage that, among other vehicles, contained a vintage 1930 Ford Model A. He said the total floor space of the home was about 3,300 square feet.

With much of the roof gone, the windows broken out and smoke still rising, it was clear the brick-and-stone home was uninhabitable.

"I imagine we'll be in a motel for a long, long time," said Spahr, adding that fortunately, the house was well insured.

The blaze was the second large fire Ankeny firefighters had dealt with Saturday. Another fire broke out when a car struck a house on Northwest 32nd Street. The driver, trapped in the burning car in the home's basement, died in the blaze, fire officials said.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Two-alarm fire fueled by gusty winds destroys large Ankeny home