WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - Robbers roughed up an employee before setting fire to a bowling alley in Waterloo, police said.
Firefighters dispatched to Maple Lanes early Tuesday morning found heavy smoke coming from the building.
“We had fire in the front pro shop, bar, kitchen areas … we have fire in this front portion. We haven’t had any in the back,” Battalion Chief Ben Petersen told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
It didn’t appear any of the lanes had been damaged by flames, Petersen said, but the rest of the building sustained significant smoke damage.
The Maple Lanes employee was working when three robbers entered the building around 3:15 a.m., police Maj. Joe Leibold said. They shoved and kicked the man, then made him stay on the floor.
The worker smelled smoke after about an hour and could feel intense heat, so he fled the building and ran about a block to Fire Station No. 4.
“It was basically a robbery … and it appears they set the fire and left,” said Fire Chief Pat Treloar.
Police officers found items from Maple Lanes scattered around the neighborhood.
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