Part of Burlington Street will stay closed through Saturday as crews work to dismantle and remove the charred and damaged levels of a construction site that caught fire, started by a heater Tuesday afternoon.
Crews will likely have to remove the third- and fourth-floor frames of the Hieronymus Square development, a $41 million project at the corner of Burlington and Clinton streets that was expected to be completed by the fall.
The Iowa City Fire Department said the heater was in a room on the building’s third floor and was being used to warm an area storing several cases of subfloor adhesives — which were combustible.
The liquid propane-fueled radiant heater came in contact with the adhesives, starting the fire, the fire department said in a Wednesday news release. Flames grew and the propane tank started to vent, providing more fuel until it exploded, then strong winds rapidly carried flames throughout the structure, the department said.
The fire caused an estimated $1 million in damage and still is under investigation, the department said.