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CLIVE, Iowa — A fire early Friday morning lit up the night sky northwest of Valley West Mall. Residents on one side of a duplex in Clive escaped uninjured, while residents of the other side of the duplex were not at home.

“When they got on scene, they saw a significant amount of smoke and flames coming from one of the duplex sides,” said Clay Garcia, Clive assistant fire chief and fire marshal. “They were able to confirm the occupants had evacuated. They did a quick search of the other side of the duplex and found that there was nobody in there. They went on to attempt to extinguish the fire.”

To get the blaze under control, crews from Clive, West Des Moines, Urbandale and Windsor Heights used water from a nearby hydrant. After the blaze was out, a sheet of ice remained around the home.

“We did have one firefighter that fell and was taken to the hospital for evaluation and was later discharged,” said Garcia. “With that much water they were putting on the fire and the temperatures that there were, it’s just a giant ice skating rink out there. It’s very dangerous just to be around simply because of the ice.”

Firefighters train for all types of situations, but it’s hard to train for a sheet of ice on the fire scene.

“It makes everything so much more difficult. You’re dealing with extreme heat at one second, and then the next moment you get cold. So actual extinguishment of the fire is so much harder, not to mention the safety concerns with firefighters,” said Garcia. “After everything starts freezing, almost immediately just simply walking is dangerous”

The structure, valued at $200,000, is a total loss.