Iowa City Fire Department extinguishes vegetation fire near church

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Firefighters in Iowa City were called to a vegetation fire near St. Andrew Presbyterian Church on Friday afternoon. The initial report was of a controlled burn, but the fire later escalated into a grass fire that took over an hour to extinguish. There were no reports of property damage or injuries.

Why it matters

Controlled burns are a common practice, but they can quickly get out of hand and become dangerous wildfires, especially in dry conditions. The quick response and containment of this fire by the Iowa City Fire Department prevented what could have been a more serious incident.

The details

According to data from the PulsePoint app, a controlled burn outside St. Andrew Presbyterian Church on Gathering Place Lane was reported to the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communications Center at 2:01 pm on Friday. 11 minutes later, the Iowa City Fire Department was called to the same location for a grass fire. The blaze was extinguished about an hour and 15 minutes later.

• The controlled burn was reported at 2:01 pm on Friday, March 21, 2026.
• The Iowa City Fire Department was called to the scene at 2:12 pm on the same day.
• The fire was extinguished around 3:16 pm on March 21, 2026.