07/01/2026
Our thoughts go out to a fellow restaurant over in Nevada that too has suffered a fire loss and that we know too well. May their recovery be swift and fast.
FROM THE FIRE CHIEF'S DESK - PRESS RELEASE STRUCTURE FIRE
1620 Lincoln Highway
Nevada (Iowa) June 30, 2026 9:00 pm
Time of Page: 1655 hours
1st arriving command: 1655 hours
1st arriving volunteer engine: 1700 hours
Water on fire/control: 1702 hours
Fire loss confirmed stop: 1722 hours
NFD personnel on scene: 16
A building fire with smoke and flames showing was reported to Story County Sheriff Dispatch Center by a passing motorist. Initial fire command responded from 6 blocks away and arrived to find heavy black smoke and fire venting out the kitchen hood roof vent at Starbucks Restaurant. There was also fire coming out the C side (south) window as the room appeared to be in complete flashover upon initial assessment. Following the county-wide fire response model, fire departments from Colo and Maxwell were dispatched at the same time.
Police officers from Nevada Public Safety shut down traffic in the 1600 block of Lincoln Highway so the first arriving engine could use the hydrant across the road from the structure. E210 arrived and crews forced entry into the C side burning structure and deployed an attack line. Simultanously, the the remaining engine crew deployed a large diameter water supply line to the hydrant to secure a water source for the crew. Tower 110 arrived and the crew deployed to the roof to provide a ventilation opening to control super hot smoke and gases.
The Story County Sheriffs Office UAS team deployed a thermal registering drone to assist command in confirming the heat location within this commercial structure. Additional support operations team members from Nevada FD and Colo FD responded to assist in firefighter rehab due to the increased heat index this week. It is normal to deploy our support operations team on all structure fires.
The fire was quickly brought under control within the structure. The building is structurally still intact (see attached photo). However, due to the fire conditions and building contents we estimate this as a total fire and smoke loss. The building estimate is $175,000 and the contents are estimated at $100,000.
The department was assisted by: Nevada Police Department, Story County Sheriffs Office, Colo Fire Department and first responders, Maxwell Fire Department, Alliant Energy, City of Nevada Street Department and Water Department. The first witness reporting the fire was driving by and stopped to assess if it was really a fire. Because of Kevin Creshwitz's quick action calling 911 this wind driven fast moving fire was knocked down quick.
The fire investigation revealed an accidental fire caused by overloading electrical services in the south food storage portion of the structure.
On a personal note: The members of our department and community are deeply saddened by this loss of a staple in our community. The owner passed from a medical incident in the past and the family vowed to keep the restaurant running in her memory. My favorite memory from Starbucks occured during covid as our world tried to figure out how to navigate new restrictions and isolation. They opened and handed food to people driving through the lot during covid. It was a profound sense of restoring hope we would be ok getting restaurant food for the first time in months. These are good people and it is our hope the community rallies as they move forward. Our thoughts are with the Starbucks community as they figure out next steps.
