News : UPDATE ON VINTON DOWNTOWN FIRE

By Captain Eric Dickinson,Vinton Police Department At 7:13 p.m. on February 8, 2018, a fire was reported in the Michael & Dowd Furniture store at 102 E. 4thStreet. The fire subsequently spread to Clingman Pharmacy and the Fischer Law Firm. Additional smokeand water damage was sustained by other businesses. Despite efforts throughout the night, the fire isstill burning at this time and large amounts of smoke are affecting nearby businesses and residencesprimarily south of the scene. The Vinton Fire Department continues to have a presence at the scenemonitoring the fire and protecting additional adjacent properties. The City of Vinton is also working to restore power to some surrounding businesses. A structuralengineer will be arriving later today to make an initial assessment of the soundness of the remainingstructures before entry can be made to attempt to determine the cause of the fire. The traffic lights indowntown Vinton will continue to flash red throughout the weekend. The Vinton Police Department is asking people to avoid the area if possible as several streets are stillblocked off due to fire hoses, unknown structural complications, and visibility issues from smoke. Ice isalso a hazard in the area and footing can be treacherous in some places. If citizens do venture down tothe area, they are asked to stay outside of barricade and police tape lines, not stop in traffic, and to payattention to other vehicles and pedestrians in the area to avoid a collision. The responding agencies and effected businesses would like to thank the community for the outpouringof support in the way of food, hot beverages, and shelter during the fire. The Vinton Fire Department has been assisted throughout this incident by the Vinton PoliceDepartment, North Benton Ambulance, Benton County Sheriff's Office, Garrison Fire Department,Shellsburg Fire Department, Urbana Fire Department, Mount Auburn Fire Department, and the VanHorne Fire Department.