Crews battle an early morning house fire in Lincoln

Neighbors reported concerns after not seeing the elderly woman who lives there

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKLN-TV) — A two-story Lincoln home was destroyed in a blaze Tuesday morning as firefighters contended with temperatures so cold that a fire hydrant froze up.

The homeowner was out of town, and no one was found inside, according to Lincoln Fire & Rescue.

Calls started coming into dispatch about 5:30 a.m., with neighbors saying the porch was on fire.

They also said an elderly woman lives in the home near South 19th and Ryons Streets, and they didn’t see any sign of her.

At 6:20 a.m., more than a dozen LFR units were on at the scene, with more on the way.

The temperature of 8 degrees added to the difficulty of fighting the fire.

By 7:15 a.m., the fire and smoke were too heavy and the damage to the building too severe for firefighters to be inside the home, so an aerial truck was used to attack the fire from outside.

LFR said crews would stay on the scene throughout the morning.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.