Cause of large fire at southeast Lincoln home identified

Lincoln Fire and Rescue says the fire began in the laundry room of the home.

Fire officials say the flames were difficult to tame, due to the layout of the home and how fast it spread to the attic.

Chief inspector bill moody said the homeowner had started the washer/dryer before taking his two pet dogs to the vet.

About a half–an–hour later, at 1:05 pm, a call came in that the house was on fire.

“Water was on the fire was within two minutes, that’s extraordinary for an engine to roll up on location. There were three individuals, and to get connected to a hydrant and get water on the fire within two minutes is amazing,” said LFR Battalion Chief Eddie Mueller.

The blaze was quickly upgraded to a 3 alarm fire.

LFR says half of the city’s fire trucks were there.

It spread incredibly fast due to the layout of the 4,000 square foot home.

“The fire spread rather quickly in this house. It was an open floor plan, branch style home, so once the fire started in the laundry room there wasn’t anything to hold it back,” said Chief Fire Inspector Bill Moody.

It took close to an hour to knock down the heavy flames.

Since it spread to the attic and roof area, a lot of water was necessary to do the job.

“We needed upwards of 600 gallons per minute, that’s just to keep the fire in check. So we needed more than that to start to extinguish the fire,” said Mueller.

A day later, the homeowner, and his family tried to salvage whatever they could, as the home suffered $400,000 dollars worth of damage.

The current owners purchased the house from Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook back in 2013.

It will be unlivable for quite some time.

LFR is working with engineers to find out exactly what caused this disaster.

“We’ve recovered the appliances from the laundry room, did some initial investigation on those, and we’re going to have some engineers do some further testing on those to see if we can figure out a component failure,” said Moody.

The homeowners mother said the family of three will be staying at her house for the time being.

She also said it was fortunate no-one was home at the time of the fire, and if there’s a bright side, she smiled and said at least she gets to spend more time with her 4 year old granddaughter.

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Previous reporting:

LFR Chief Fire Inspector Bill Moody said that the cause of the fire at the home at 6300 Doecreek Circle came from the laundry room.

The homeowner reported that he was using the washer/dryer when he left to take his pet to the vet Thursday afternoon, and the fire erupted about a half-an-hour later.

The damage to the home is estimated to be $400,000 in total, $300,000 of damage to the home and $100,000 to the contents inside of the home.

It will unlivable for some time.

Engineers will be taking a close look at the electrical cords to find out what led to the disaster.

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Fire crews are investigating the scene after a three-alarm house fire broke out Thursday afternoon. 

Lincoln Fire and Rescue was called to the home at 6300 Doecreek Circle, northeast of 70th and Highway 2 around 1:15 p.m. on reports that the home was fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire after an hour, and fire officials said nobody was inside and there were no injuries. 

Fire officials said the fire started in the laundry room and spread to the house and garage causing extensive damage. Officials said flames caused the roof of the home to cave in.

Officials hesitated to say the home was a total loss, but said it suffered significant damages. Inspectors tell Channel 8 they estimate around $300,000 worth of damages.

The homeowner told Channel 8 Eyewitness News he and his pets were at the vet when the fire started, and his family was not home. 

The home previously belonged to Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook, but Cook no longer lives there. Former Husker baseball coach Darin Erstad lives in the neighboring house, neighbors said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. 

This is a developing story, we will continue to provide updates as they become available.