Fire leaves family in Emerson homeless

An inspector from the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office was scheduled to be in Emerson Monday to examine the scene of a structure fire that has left a women and her children without a home.

The fire was reported shortly before 11:30 a.m. at 512 Bartlett St., a multi-story house owned by Angie Kaimann. Firefighters from Emerson, Hastings and Red Oak battled the fire that may have started in the basement of the home, according to Emerson city clerk Michelle Faxon. Cause of the fire was unknown at press time.

“It (the house) was totaled inside,” Faxon said.

Faxon said Kaimann lived in the house with two of her three children, but nobody was home at the time of the fire. Three of the family’s pets, one dog and two cats, survived the fire. Several kittens did not, Faxon said.

The American Red Cross has offered housing assistance to the Kaimann family.