Man Beats Through Sealed Window to Escape Iowa Fire

May 11--WATERLOO -- A man was forced to escape through a basement window in his home after it started on fire Saturday evening.

Waterloo Fire Rescue responded to a call about 9:30 p.m. that a house at 528 Adrian St. was on fire. Battalion Chief Mike Moore said the homeowner "managed to beat his way out" through a sealed-up window in the basement, where he had gone to bed.

"He was out before we got there," Moore said.

Mark Cornwall is the homeowner, according to Black Hawk County's online real estate records. Moore said the man lives alone and was by himself at the time.

"He was in the basement, next thing he knows there's fire all over the house," said Paul Barker, a relative of Cornwell's who came to the scene after hearing about the blaze on the scanner.

Moore noted the fire was accidental and started in the kitchen, possibly with "smoking materials." From there it spread into the attic. "He'd been downstairs, he thought, a half hour at least from the time he left the kitchen area."

Firefighters were still carrying chunks of burned plywood out of the front door shortly before 10 p.m. and Moore said they would remain at the scene for quite a while to make sure nothing was smoldering in the attic insulation.

"I can't put an estimate on it, but there's a lot of damage in there," he said.

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