House Destroyed By New Year’s Eve Fire

A house at 7th and A Streets in Fairbury was gutted by fire the morning of the last day of 2022.Fairbury Rural Fire and Jansen Rural Fire departments were dispatched to the scene of the house fire at approximately 5:55 a.m. on Saturday, January 31. The dispatcher reported the house was already “engulfed.”According to Assistant Fire Chief Judd Stewart, the first arriving fire engine was on location within minutes of the fire call. Firefighters arrived to find a well involved attached garage and detached garage to the rear of the house. Access through the alley was blocked by downed power lines.Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies advised the house was vacant prior to the incident, so focus was made on protecting exposures from the heavy flames and making a defensive attack on the fire.The first exterior fire attack was made with two hand lines from the south side of the structure and the flames were quickly knocked down. A third attack line was sent in the front of the structure to prevent the spread of fire throughout the interior of the house.Stewart said the fire was knocked down within 30 minutes and extensive overhaul operations continued to ensure the fire was completely out.Fire crews remained on scene for approximately three hours while officers from Fairbury Rural Fire and an investigator from the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s office performed an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.Personnel included 25 firefighters from Fairbury Rural Fire and Jansen Rural Fire on scene to battle the flames. Fairbury Utilities and a representative from Black Hills Energy were present to disconnect utilities to the structure. Traffic control was provided by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.Extensive damage was done to the detached garage and to the attached garage with substantial heat and smoke damage to the house itself.There were no injuries to firefighters or any member of the public.Stewart said, “It’s a good time to be reminded of safe practices when dealing with the recent and upcoming cold weather and the use of space heaters. Make sure they are plugged directly into an outlet that is sufficiently rated to handle the wattage of the heater being used and make sure the heater is placed on a hard, level and non-flammable surface with at least three feet of space between the heater and any flammable object.”The initial investigation was inconclusive on determining a cause of the fire due to the extent of the damage. The investigation is ongoing.

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