Omaha Fire investigators now know what started a weekend fire at a fire house. The cause of the station fire was the same as the cause of many house fires that the firefighters battle daily, food left on the stove.
Firefighters at Station 43 were making breakfast Sunday morning when they got called out to an emergency. They headed out the doors thinking that they turned the burners off.
By the time the Battalion Chief smelled the fire from his office, he realized the fire was too strong to fight with extinguishers. So, he did what any other citizen would do, he called 911 for other fire stations to respond.
The fire house is 47 years old and has never been renovated, so it was not equipped with sprinklers.
Battalion Chief Scott Fitzpatrick says firefighters are just like everyone else. "One of our leading causes of fires that we do respond to is food on the stove. We're no different than anyone else. We want to make this a teachable moment and remind everyone that when you're cooking and leave the house, make sure you turn off the stove top."
Station 43 remains closed and will likely stay that way for three to four weeks and in the meantime, Engine 43 is working out of Station 42 a mile away. Omaha Fire looked into its records and found that the last time a fire house caught fire from food on the stove was over 100 years ago.
(Photo courtesy of 6 News)