Iowa DPS investigation closes with no cause determined for Lighthouse Inn fire

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Almost eight months after a Cedar Rapids eatery was destroyed in a fire, state investigators say they still can't pinpoint what caused it - and are closing the case as "undetermined."

The Lighthouse Inn Supper Club caught fire in August on Mount Vernon Road Southeast. At the time, authorities said there were no initial signs of foul play.

Now, a new report from the Department of Public Safety also finds there's no evidence to support arson. They don't know how the fire started, but they do know where it originated.

DPS says the fire likely started in an empty space above the kitchen before spreading to the rest of the building.

Nobody was injured in the fire.

The lighthouse was built in 1912. It had been the second-oldest restaurant in Iowa, the oldest restaurant in Cedar Rapids, and the oldest supper club in the whole state.

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