A Fire in an Eastern Iowa Town Broke the Community’s Water System

A massive fire in one northeastern Iowa city depleted the town's entire water supply forcing schools to go virtual and area businesses to have reduced hours in the day following the blaze. The fire, seen in photos and videos below, thankfully did not any injuries.

The massive fire strained the water supply

A report from KWWL indicates the Waukon firefighters needed hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to combat the massive fire, resulting in crews going through the cities entire water supply. The KWWL story says Waukon city officials identified the issue as too much water going through a strained system. The fire occurred late Sunday night at 11 Allamakee street, which was an apartment complex and several businesses. The building was a total loss as a result of the damage from the fire. Firefighters were fighting the fire well past midnight, into the early hours of Monday morning.

City crews fixed the issue Monday, but since the water sat still for so long, there is a chance the water could be contaminated. Before residents could use the water again, the city needed to get approval from Iowa's Department of Natural Resources. Waukon firefighters were assisted by an aerial truck from the Decorah Fire Department.

Waukon firefighters continued to monitor the wreckage after the fire, according to the report, in order to prevent any debris from re-igniting. As of now, there's no word on what caused the massive fire Sunday night.