Postville apartment fire claims life of one victim

Wednesday, March 13 at 10:54 a.m. the Postville Fire Department was dispatched by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office to the 600 block of West Post Street for an apartment fire.
Upon arrival at the scene flames were observed inside one of the apartment windows and smoke was rolling from the roof. Postville Fire Chief Jeff Bohr requested mutual aid from the Castalia and Ossian Fire Departments. An attack line was set up and a team went in to begin suppressing the fire while another team performed a search of the other apartments.
Once the roof was ventilated, the fire was suppressed within 25 minutes. During the fire attack, a body was recovered from the burned apartment. The victim, identified as 61-year-old Marlin P. Schutte, was declared dead at the scene. Two other occupants in an adjacent apartment sustained some minor burns.
The apartment complex, valued at $200,000, is being considered a total loss at this time due to the fact that there was some type of explosion that made the structure unstable. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The Postville Fire Department was assisted by the Postville Police Department, the Ossian and Castalia Fire Departments, Allamakee County Emergency Management and the American Red Cross.