LFR battles fire at abandoned Village Inn building in Lincoln

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lincoln Fire & Rescue battled flames Wednesday morning at an abandoned Village Inn building.

LFR crews were called to the building near 29th and O streets around 8:30 a.m.

A man who lives on N Street, Spencer X, witnessed the fire.

“I came out here, getting ready to go to work, and I saw the Village Inn across the street just burst into flames,” he said. “I saw the flames from where I was at, and the sky was just full of black smoke.”

Firefighters initially went inside the building but eventually evacuated due to the flames, LFR said.

“We don’t have an easy way in, and we don’t have ways of egress if a firefighter becomes trapped or something like that,” Fire Chief Dave Engler said.

No one was found inside the building.

Crews feared the flames would spread, so the NP Mart gas station next door was evacuated.

Fire Chief Dave Engler said it took crews about 1 hour and 40 minutes to get the flames under control.

Eastbound O Street was closed at 27th Street due to the fire but has since reopened.

Heads up! Eastbound O street is closed at 27th due to a structure fire. Please use Vine or Randolph as an alternate route for the time being and give @LNKFireRescue room to work. pic.twitter.com/zXRzpzbmbO

— Lincoln-Lancaster Emergency Mngmt. (@LancasterCoEMA) November 20, 2024

Engler said because the building is vacant, it posed a risk for hot spots.

“We may see smoke and we may see hot spots for possibly a day or two, or maybe even longer depending on the amount of debris that’s in there,” he said.

High winds were a challenge to firefighters and also pushed the thick black smoke to the east.

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department issued an air quality advisory due to the smoke.

“Breathing smoke from the fire presents a health risk for everyone, especially children, older adults, and people with asthma, lung disease and other respiratory or heart conditions,” said Gary Bergstrom, the department’s air quality section supervisor. “Residents in the area are encouraged remain indoors and to keep windows and doors closed until smoke from the fire ceases.”

The air quality index in the area was in the orange category for a time, meaning the conditions were unhealthy for sensitive groups.

But by 4 p.m., it had returned to health levels.

LFR said some nearby homes and businesses lost electricity.

In order for the Lincoln Electric System to safely restore power, the building was torn down late in the afternoon.

After demolition, search dogs were brought to the scene since firefighters had to stop their earlier search.

LFR said firefighters will be monitoring hot spots smoldering throughout the night.

If you see smoke or flames, you do not need to call 911.

The fire caused about $345,000 in damage. It is still under investigation.