Bitter cold didn't stop dozens of people from watching Omaha firefighters battle a midtown apartment house fire on Saturday.
Just before 3:30 p.m., firefighters responded to a three-story house ablaze near 34th Street and Dewey Avenue.
Numerous firefighters battled the fire some kneeling in the snow to direct hoses, streams from which caused rainbows to appear on Dewey Avenue.
An hour into the battle, the roof appeared gnarled in black, gray smoke billowed from the house and flames continued to shoot out. Three thick streams of water shot into the house, and water poured off the blackened, charred porch.
Neighbors and curious onlookers couldn't seem to take their eyes off the uncommon sight.
Elizabeth Fredrickson watched the massive fire from her porch across the street.
She said flames broke through the roof, and suddenly everyone in emergency vehicles honked their horns.
Firefighters quickly evacuated the house.
“It was crazy,” she said.
Assistant Fire Capt. Dan Stolinski said fire crews had to evacuate for their own safety. Shortly after, the roof collapsed, he said.
One firefighter was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center with what appeared to be a knee injury, Stolinski said.
Siding melted on a house west of the burning home, but it was otherwise protected. A family with at least two small children was forced to leave their home east of the fire.
The burned house was not occupied at the time of the blaze. Fredrickson said several Creighton University graduate students live in the home.
Stolinski said the cause of the fire hadn't been determined, but he said space heaters and overloading electrical outlets are common causes in severe cold.
“The wind wasn't much of a factor,” he said. “It's the extreme cold that the guys are dealing with right now.”
Stolinski said the large house was divided into several apartments, and that made the fire difficult to fight.
Volunteers from the Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross were on the scene to assist any displaced residents.
Contact the writer:
402-444-3131, sam.womack@owh.com
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