Waterloo Woman Hospitalized, House Fire “Suspicious”

A Waterloo woman remains hospitalized following a weekend house fire that authorities label as "suspicious".

Firefighters responded to the blaze at about 3:30am Saturday, in the 900 block of Dawson Street in Waterloo.

The blaze began in the front of the house, and spread; one of the occupants, 35 year old Lakeisha Cooper, was able to escape the home with three children, but 2 people were still trapped inside.

54 year old Leontyne Cooper, was inside a back bedroom; she was rescued by Waterloo Firefighters, and taken to University Hospitals in Iowa City, to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Another resident, 60 year old L.W. Maize, was helped out of the burning building, but was not injured.

The blaze caused considerable damage; authorities are treating the fire as suspicious, and have called in the State Fire Marshall to help investigate. An accelerant detection dog was used to find evidence at the scene, but the tests could take several weeks.

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