Randy Pierce says he was walking home from the store when he saw smoke coming from his apartment building. He climbed three flights in thick smoke to rescue his cat and save his military documents.
"When I got to my apartment it was full of smoke. I had to get my cat, my ID and important stuff." He says. "My military records are all in here, so." He said, patting a thick paper folder. "Me and her got out alright."
When WHO Radio News talked with Pierce, he was sitting on a doorstep across the street in the rain, holding his cat, watching firefighters across the street at East 16th and Grand Avenue.
Pierce and the cat were wet, but they were both alive. He set the wet folder down beside him on the stoop. He says it holds his Vietnam service records. The cat looked dazed. Pierce looked sad and worried.
"There's only two apartments upstairs. The people next door to me got out alright." Pierce said. "I'm alright. My cat's scared. But all my stuff up there's going to be ruined. I know it is."
Des Moines Fire Captain Mark Dooley says the fire was difficult to contain. He called it an interstitial fire.
"It's between the floors and in the walls. We have to watch for multiple things, such as a building collapse, and the safety of the crew." Dooley tells WHO Radio News.
At one point it looked like the fire was out, then thick, black smoke began pouring from doors, windows, and the roof, again.