Dubuque Fire Responds to $23K Blaze, Airport Fuel Spill

It was a busy Wednesday for the Dubuque Fire Department on December 10th, 2025, as crews handled two very different calls only a few hours apart; one a residential fire in the city, the other a sizeable fuel spill out at the Dubuque Regional Airport.

Residents near Prince Street may have noticed the commotion late in the afternoon, when a home at 2308 suddenly began filling with smoke. The 911 call came in around 4:36 PM, and fire crews responded in less than a minute. When the first unit arrived, there was no visible smoke from outside, so an interior search was conducted.

They found light smoke and a small fire starting to take hold on the second floor. Crews stretched a hoseline and had water on the flames within nine minutes of arrival. Thanks to the quick response, the flames stayed in the room where the fire had started. Losses were estimated at just over $23,000, thankfully no one was injured in the incident.

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Earlier that same day, the department responded to a different kind of problem at the Dubuque Regional Airport, a fuel spill in the tank farm area. What was first thought to be jet fuel turned out to be about 400 gallons of Avgas 100LL. Thankfully, airport staff had already confirmed the fuel was contained inside the designated catch basin

Engine 5 and Battalion 1 set up a 150-foot exclusion zone, evacuated nearby buildings just to be safe, and monitored the air while cleanup got underway. Airport crews supplied absorbent material, and firefighters helped soak up and collect the spilled fuel. The product was moved to a secure area for controlled vaporization; with no hazardous conditions during the response.