DATE & TIME: April 26 @ 12:37pm
INCIDENT TYPE: Residential Structure Fire
ADDRESS/LOCATION: 751 Alta Vista Street - Dubuque

The Dubuque Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 12:36 PM from a neighbor reporting smoke coming from a residence next door on Alta Vista. The Dubuque Fire Department was dispatched to the scene within 30 seconds. Initial responding vehicles included Battalion 1, Truck 4, Medic 4, Engine 1, Engine 5, Truck 1, and Engine 6. The response brought 14 firefighters in total for the fire. 

Truck 4 and Battalion 1 arrived on scene within 3 minutes of dispatch reporting light white smoke coming from a 2-floor open window. Truck 4 conducted a walk-around and Battalion 1 established Alta Vista Command and declared a working fire. A fire hose was charged with water and stretched to the front door. The doors were locked and it appeared no residents were home. The crew forced open the door discovering smoke banked down near the floor. The fire attack crew entered the house to find the fire and had water on the flames within eight minutes of arrival. An orange glow from flames was discovered in the kitchen. DPD officers confirmed with occupants that all were out though a dog was home. A search crew entered in an attempt to find the dog. The dog was later found deceased beneath a bed of apparent smoke inhalation. The attack crew knocked the fire down after four minutes of extinguishment. A large volume of smoke on both floors, the basement and attic had to be ejected with fans. The fire was determined to be accidental due to moving boxes placed on top the stove with a knob pushed on. The home was determined to be uninhabitable. The new tenants were moving in today and made other arrangements to reside going forward. The property owner was notified and sent a crew to assess the damages. Losses were estimated at $30,000.

The Dubuque Fire Department was assisted on scene by the Dubuque Police Department. There were no injuries to responders reported.

Division Chief Dave Grass

Media Contacts:  
Division Chief - Shift 1, Dave Grass, 563.589.4172 Dgrass@cityofdubuque.org
Deputy Chief, Kevin Esser, 563.589.4161, Kesser@cityofdubuque.org

Please do not reply to this message. For incident-specific information, please contact the staff identified in the message above.  For general fire and emergency medical services information, visit www.cityofdubuque.org/fire or contact the Dubuque Fire Department at 563.589.4160 or fire@cityofdubuque.org.  

In an emergency, always call 9-1-1. For non-emergency dispatch, call 563.589.4415.