Part of downtown Mason City is closed off after a fire destroyed the historic Kirk Apartments on Monday. The building is located at 206 North Federal Avenue which is part of Mason City’s historic district in downtown. Barricades are placed on North Federal Avenue to keep people safely at a distance. According to Mason City Fire Chief Erik Bullinger, firefighters were called to the building shortly after 1:30 p.m. Monday where the fire was contained to a lower unit apartment. Fire crews initially thought they had most of it out, but then the fire got in between two floors and began traveling throughout the building and into other units.
As of 9:30 p.m. Monday, firefighters considered the fire to be “mostly out,” but planned to keep two trucks pouring water onto the fire into the overnight hours.