WATERLOO - An early morning fire filled Sunnyside Country Club with smoke and has closed the clubhouse at 1600 Olympic Drive.

An employee discovered smoke when he arrived for work at about 5 a.m., said Capt. Mike Jenn of Waterloo Fire Rescue.

Fire damage was isolated to the lower level, Jenn said. There was also water damage from sprinklers on the first-floor kitchen and smoke damage throughout the clubhouse building, he said.

Tracee Halvorson, a manager at Sunnyside, said this morning he hadn't been able to get inside to survey the damage. He wasn't immediately sure when the building will be up and running, although the golf course itself will likely remain open.

Power to the building was turned off, and Halvorson was making arrangements to keep food in the country club's freezers and coolers from spoiling.

The fire apparently started in the building's lower level, which houses a break room, utility area and another kitchen, Jenn said.

Smoke from the blaze triggered sprinklers in the first-floor kitchen, although it isn't clear if water from the devices was able to reach the fire, Jenn said. There were no sprinklers on the lower level.

The sprinklers kept the smoke low, instead of allowing it to rise, and this made it more difficult for firefighters to determine where the fire was coming from and to vent smoke from the building, Jenn said.

No injuries were reported, he said, and the city fire marshal was called into investigate the cause.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.