ANKENY, Iowa — A person has died after an Ankeny apartment building caught fire on Wednesday afternoon.
According to city officials, Ankeny firefighters were dispatched to the fire at 417 NE Trilein Drive around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Crews say heavy smoke was coming from a third-floor window of the building when they arrived.
They immediately began an interior search of the building to locate any residents still left in the building, and to identify where the fire was burning, according to a release.
The entire third floor of the building was filled with smoke, making it challenging to search the building.
Fire crews located an unconscious person in a third-floor unit. After removing the individual from the building and attempting CPR, the person was taken by ambulance to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.
That person later died at the hospital.
Crews were able to successfully extinguish the fire within 15 minutes of arrival. Significant damage occurred throughout the third floor, but it didn't spread to other areas of the building.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. With the help of Polk County Emergency Management, displaced residents were assisted by the Red Cross.
The Ankeny Fire Department says it would like to remind residents to check smoke detector batteries in their homes.
