Firefighters battle blaze, in Wymore

WYMORE - Fire broke out in a southeast Nebraska home late Tuesday morning. Wymore Firefighters with help from two other departments were dispatched to 11th and L Streets during the late morning, to a fire in a home off the southeast corner of the intersection.

"A majority of the garage area was involved, and had already made its way into the attic and into the house at that point, when the first truck arrived."

Wymore Assistant Fire Chief Collin Meints said no one was in the house at the time of the fire, but officials were searching for a dog that may have been lost in the blaze....but no animal apparently was found.  

Flames collapsed the roof of the garage on the north side of the structure.   About fifteen firefighters from Wymore, Blue Springs and the Beatrice Rural Fire Department fought the blaze.  They accessed a hydrant along the intersection to help douse the flames.  At least four fire trucks responded to the scene…which is across the street from Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. 

Twelve-degree weather at the time of the fire, Meints says, created some hazard with icing of surfaces and equipment freezing up. 

Wymore Fire Chief Mark Meints says investigation showed the fire started as the occupant was working on a vehicle inside the garage and a gas leak ignited.  The vehicle inside the garage along with one parked outside were destroyed.

Meints says the occupant later sought medical treatment, mainly for smoke inhalation.   Damage to the home and contents, is expected to exceed $50,000.