Buffalo Road was closed as crews battled the fire at the priest’s residence near Dowling

Crews quickly extinguished a fire that broke out in the wall of the priest’s residence near Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines on Wednesday morning.

Buffalo Road was closed while firefighters were on scene, but reopened before Dowling students were dismissed for the day at 11:30 a.m

West Des Moines Fire Marshal Mike Whitsell said they were initially called to the scene in the 1300 block of Buffalo Road when a fire alarm went off. Firefighters there encountered smoke in the building, then a fire was discovered on a southwest wall and quickly extinguished, he said.

While the cause remains under investigation, Whitsell says it appears workers replacing a sliding glass door used equipment that caused sparks to ignite behind the wall and burn into the roofline.

“If you start a fire in an empty room … by the time you find it, it can be very advanced,” he said. “The fire alarm served its purpose. He got us there early in the process and saved significant damages.”

An official at Dowling Catholic High School, located at 1400 Buffalo Road, said in a message to the school community that the fire started in the “Priest Residence next to DCHS High School” and Buffalo Road was closed while the Emergency services are on site.

“The students are safe and there is no threat to our building. All priests were evacuated and no one was injured,” the message said. “Students will not be allowed to leave campus until Buffalo Road reopens. We will advise if there is an impact on discharge collection.”

KCCI reached out to the school and fire department but received no response.

This is a developing story. KCCI will provide further details as they become available.

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