Vacant Omaha home destroyed in early morning fire
One person was sent to the hospital and a house was destroyed due to an early morning fire in Omaha.
By News Channel NebraskaOMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - One person was sent to the hospital and a house was destroyed due to an early morning fire.
According to the Omaha Fire Department, the call came in at 3:51 a.m. Sunday for a house fire near South 15th and Briggs Street.
When crews arrived they saw the vacant and unsecured house had flames showing. It took crews just under 20 minutes to get the fire under control, but firefighters were still on the scene as of 7 a.m., working to get the fire completely out.
Fire officials told our partners at 6 News that many homeless individuals are known to have resided there and witnesses allegedly told crews about a squatter who was involved in the house fire. They were located nearby and sent to a nearby hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.
Omaha Fire investigators say the blaze was caused accidentally due to smoking materials getting in contact with common combustible materials.
The structure, valued at $48,900 suffered heavy damage and is estimated to be a total loss.