Police Do Not Believe A Meth Lab Caused Thursday Morning Fire In Fort Dodge

Emergency Personnel was on the scene of a residential fire early Thursday morning in Fort Dodge. The fire occurred on North 31st St near the Fort Dodge Middle School. Crews from Fort Dodge Fire/Rescuse and the Fort Dodge PD were on the scene when I (Rob Jones) arrived shortly after 6 AM. Area residents reported an explosion early Thursday morning. Initial speculation was that meth lab blew up and caused the explosion, however the FDPD doesn’t believe that was the case.

A statement in response to questions about the incident came from Captain Ryan Gruenberg just after 8AM Thursday. The statement said “we don’t believe it was caused by a meth lab. It was initially reported that a meth lab may have been the source, but it does not appear to be the case at this time”.

The Fort Dodge PD did make an arrest while on the scene. The statement says 22 year old, Gabriel Cunningham of Fort Dodge, was arrested for Interference With Official Acts and Possession Of Drug Paraphernalia. The statement says, Cunningham was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries that were unrelated to the fire.

My inquiry into the specifics of the arrest has not been answered as of the time of this report. No info on the the cause of the fire has been released as of the time of this report. The Fire Dodge Fire Dept. is expected to issue a press release on the fire sometime Thursday.

We will update details on this story as new information emerges.