Fully involved structure fire, (Brian Neben, Courtesy)
LINCOLN — Investigators say an early morning house fire west of Lincoln was intentionally set. Lancaster County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Ben Houchin says it broke out around 4:00 a.m. near NW 56th and West Holdrege.
“When responder arrived the house was fully engulfed,” Houchin says. “The house was a total loss and the owner estimated the loss of the residence and the contents to be approximately $350,000.”
Firefighters from Malcolm, Southwest, and Pleasant Dale volunteer fire departments battled the fire for nearly two hours. “Whoever started the fire needs to understand the danger they put first responders in for no good reason,” Houchin says.
No one was living in the house and Houchin says it was being used primarily for storage. He says deputies were called to the house on New Years Day to investigate broken windows and other reports of vandalism.
The specific cause of the fire is not known and LSO is working with the State Fire Marshal’s Office on the arson investigation.
