Emergency crews busy in NC commercial districts

 NEBRASKA CITY – Emergency crews were busy in downtown Nebraska City Wednesday afternoon with a structure fire near Central Avenue and a possible natural gas line rupture on 11th Street. 

Tammy Franke and her 19-year-old son safely evacuated their First Avenue apartment after a fire broke out in an upstairs closet. Preliminary reports indicate that an extension cord overheated.

Nebraska City Fire Chief Rob Schreiner said an interior crew climbed the stairs to the second level. 

Schreiner: “They made an entrance and found that the closet was fully involved, put out a second call, did a really good knock down. We had a lot of smoke in the building, in the upstairs, that we had to contend with.” 

 

Three people were evacuated. One cat and four dogs were rescued from the building. 

The fire was dispatched at 12:36 p.m. About an hour later there was a fire alarm at 800 Central Avenue that was checked. At 2:30 p.m. emergency crews were called to 401 S. 11th Street for a gas main leak. 

Businesses in the area were asked to evacuate as a precaution. The incident followed a water line disruption last week and a natural gas alert near the Runza restaurant early in the 11th Street improvement project.