Body found after Reinbeck garage fire

A still-unidentified person is dead after a garage fire in Reinbeck on Sunday morning, and local authorities are investigating the incident.
           
“It’s open at this point until we get the autopsy,” Grundy County Sheriff Rick Penning said. “(But) we don’t think there’s anything criminal.”
           
According to the Grundy County Beacon website, the property at 505 Oak Street is owned by Todd and June Eckhart, and the house has been owner occupied since the couple bought it in 1992. At least 15 Reinbeck firefighters and four county law enforcement officers came to the scene just after 11:00 a.m., and the fire was contained to the unattached garage without making a major affect on the adjacent home, though some siding was burnt. The cause remains unknown.
           
“They did a good knockdown and a good job of containing it,” Penning said of the RFD.
           
Reinbeck Fire Chief Jamie Eiffler, a 30-year veteran of the department, led his unit’s response and was checking the garage for hot spots when the victim was discovered. The individual’s face had been burnt beyond recognition.
           
“I’ve seen worse, but you could definitely tell it was a body… My group of guys did a great job, and we don’t deal with this every day,” Eiffler said. “As firemen and as medics, you learn to deal with stuff, but sometimes things pop up and surprise you.”
           
The individual was found to be deceased upon arrival, and the body will be transported to the state medical examiner’s office in Ankeny for an autopsy—which Chief Deputy Tim Wolthoff predicted could take up to two weeks to complete.
           
An estimate on damages has not yet been provided. Insulation, power tools, wood and seed corn were all found burnt at the scene, but the garage itself was still standing. An attempt to reach the property owner for comment was unsuccessful.
           
Eiffler added that a regular fire department meeting had been scheduled for Monday evening, and crisis intervention services would be available for firefighters who were traumatized by the events.
           
“You don’t forget any of them, but you see them,” he said. 
 
This story is developing. Check this week's Grundy Register for further details. Subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here.