Nehawka fire destroys Elm Street home

NEHAWKA - Nehawka and Murray firefighters were on the scene Wednesday afternoon for a house fire in Nehawka.

Assistant Fire Chief Michael Mcintire said the occupants, a man and his daughters, had escaped the house before firefighters arrived.

Mcintire:  “Unit showed up. It was on fire so we mutual aided two other departments because of the heat outside today. We knew it was going to be a struggle.”

 

Firefighters gained access to the open front door, but could only partially enter the doorway because it was encompassed in flames.

McIntire: “We had a bedroom that was full that decided to catch on fire. It was a bedroom stacked to the ceiling with some stuff in storage. It makes it hard to fight fire that way.”

Nehawka fire was first to arrive with a 2,000-gallon pumper and soon connected with a fire hydrant on Elm Street.

McIntire: “The water supply in this town isn’t the greatest anyway, so a lot of times we rely on drop tanks even in town, but today we were able to just use the hydrant.”

He said the fire department will contact the American Red Cross if the family wants that. The state fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.