LFR feels the heat while battling south Lincoln house fire in high temps

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Several LFR crews battled a fire in the Tuesday morning heat at a home in south Lincoln.

Lincoln Fire & Rescue responded to the home near 14th and Arapahoe streets around 9:30 a.m.

LFR said the fire began on the second floor in a closet.

And with the extreme heat coursing through the capital city, crews battled more than just the danger inside the home.

“As thick as this air is, it doesn’t take long,” Battalion Chief Bob Watton said. “You elevate that probably eightfold when you put all the weight on the firefighters, and then you put their gear on.”

A user of the NOW Local News App shared a video of firefighters working on the roof of the home.

Investigators think the fire started due to electrical appliances overloading the outlets.  It caused about $75,000 in damage.

No one was injured in the fire, and the residents are being relocated by the Red Cross.

Owners of the home said their three cats are missing.

LFR was there for more than two hours working in feel-like temperatures as high as 98.

Watton said crews have to prepare way in advance before heading to a scene in this heat.

“On scene we have electrolytes to provide them, but we also try to recycle and rehab them a little more frequently,” he said. “We encourage them to take their gear off, let their bodies breathe a little bit, get the air tanks off. And we bring in more crews.”

Watton said three engines probably could have handled Tuesday’s fire, but four were called in “just in case.”

LFR said it is constantly monitoring conditions and encouraging crews to swap out when needed.

Watton added that the dangerously high temperatures do take a toll when they are trying to keep the public safe.

“We’ve been dealing with quite a bit during this hot period, and they’re doing great work out there,” he said. “Keep them in your mind when you hear sirens go by because it is taxing. We’re not just here for eight hours; we’re here for 24. These folks who fight these fires, they go back and may end up on another one in two hours. It is very tiring.”

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