Local News
Iowa House Hotel closed after utility room fire
Posted on Nov 05, 2009 by admin.
Fire crews respond to the Iowa Memorial Union Thursday morning for a fire in a utility closet. (KCRG-TV9)
UPDATE: The Iowa House Hotel on the University of Iowa campus is closed this morning after a fire in a utility closet.
Firefighters responded around 2:30 a.m. Thursday to an alarm at the hotel, 15 W. Jefferson St., adjacent to the Iowa Memorial Union, and found fire on the fourth floor. Battalion Chief Dan Smith said smoke was found in the hotel and the adjoining IMU when the first crew arrived. He said the fire was quickly controlled.
Thirty-three rooms at the hotel had to be evacuated. Those people were sent to other hotels. No one was injured.
The fire damage was confined to the utility closet, but water damaged four floors where the fire started and below, Smith said. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
There is no word yet on how soon the Iowa House Hotel will reopen.
NOTE: A previous version of this story indicated the Iowa Memorial Union was closed this morning. That information was incorrect.
PressureChief
05. Nov, 2009
The IMU is not closed, just the Iowa House Hotel (adjacent to the rear of the IMU), and lower floors. The remainder of the IMU appears to be open still.
DaveJohanson
05. Nov, 2009
This would be a good opportunity to ask
why does the state of Iowa need to run a hotel in Iowa City?
Aren't there plenty of privately owned hotels in the area that could use the business?
ICHawk
05. Nov, 2009
It is a decent, not great, source of revenue. Rates are usually less expensive than the competition. There is nothing fancy about the Iowa House, but it is convenient for people having events in the IMU or visiting the campus.
ISU also has a hotel in their union, as do several other Big 10 schools. This isn't an uncommon situation.