A fire in a low-rent housing community claimed the life of an

Ames man Friday evening and forced 56 elderly residents out of

their apartments.

Firefighters received a call from a resident of the facility at

7:24 p.m. and rushed to Keystone of Ames Apartments, a retirement

community at 3115 Roy Key Ave. The cause of the fire is unknown and

is under investigation at this time.

“We had a report of smoke in the building,” said Paul Sandoval,

Deputy Fire Chief for the City of Ames.

Firefighters who arrived on the scene used ladders to rescue

five residents who were partially hanging out of windows on the

third floor of the building.

“There were people literally trying to climb out the windows,”

said Clare Bills, public relations officer for the City of

Ames.

Bills said the apartment building had no sprinkler system.

The fire started on the third floor of the building, in

apartment No. 335. The man occupying that apartment was the only

resident who perished in the blaze.

Firefighters discovered the victim’s body in the hallway of the

third floor, Bills said. Authorities are not releasing the man’s

name until his family has been notified of his death.

“They’re having trouble finding some of his next of kin,” Bills

said.

The fire was fully involved when firefighters arrived on the

scene, Sandoval said.

“We had smoke actually down to the floor — heavy smoke, heavy

heat,” Sandoval said. “We have crews in there looking for any hot

spots. The smoke damage was extensive.”

Leslie Hansohn, 76, has lived in Keystone of Ames Apartments

with his wife for three years. Hansohn said most of the residents

on the first floor of the building remained calm throughout the

fire.

“I was shaving, and I heard the fire alarm go off,” he said.

“[The residents] were all calm, as far as I know.”

Hansohn said he and his wife left the building and kept warm in

their car, which was parked in a nearby lot.

“We just left on our own,” he said.

The Lincoln Way Chapter of the American Red Cross was on the

scene of the fire to provide assistance to the residents and staff

of the apartment complex.

Most residents were transported by CyRide buses to the nearby

North Grand Church of Christ, 919 30th St., after the church’s

pastor, Jim Gilmore, offered the church and its gymnasium to

accommodate the residents, said Bob Anderson, vice chairman of the

Board of Directors of the Lincoln Way Chapter.

After the tragedy, local family and friends of many of the

residents came to the church to pick up their loved ones, he

said.

About 30 residents, some wrapped in afghans and quilts, chatted

quietly over coffee and cookies at the church, while the

firefighters continuously returned to the apartment complex to

retrieve the residents’ medications.

The residents were not allowed to return to their apartments on

Friday night.

“Most of the residents did go with family or friends,” said

Colleen Daly, Emergency Services Specialist with the Lincoln Way

Chapter.

Daly said seven residents who did not have local family to stay

with spent the night at local motels.

“We don’t know yet when they’ll be able to get back in [to their

apartments],” Bills said.

Bills said the investigation may take a while due to the

extensive fire damage to the third floor of the building.

“Sometimes the investigation takes awhile,” she said. “It was

all so badly burned — it takes longer to do the

investigation.”

Donations to assist the victims of this tragedy can be directed

to the Lincoln Way Chapter of the American Red Cross, 436 Fifth

St., or by calling 515-232-5104.

City of Ames Assessor records indicate the Keystone of Ames

Apartment complex is owned by Ames Ecumenical Housing, Inc., a

company based out of St. Louis. The owners could not be reached for

comment.

The building manager, Brad Snodgrass, and his wife, Jane,

arrived at the scene of the fire after the residents were

evacuated.