Fire officials have ruled the fire that damaged a building in the Old Market was accidental.
The Omaha Fire Department announced the results of their investigation so far in a press release Thursday afternoon.
Read the full statement below:
"On Thursday 21 January 2016 the Omaha Fire Investigation Unit was able to conduct the scene examination into the cause of the fire at 422 S 11th St. During the course of the investigation and examination of the scene, Investigators were able to determine the following information:
Crews working to horizontal bore lines under the sidewalk in front of the building struck the gas service line that was the main gas feed to the building.
This was verified and documented by removing the sidewalk area above the gas line and then excavating the dirt to expose the gas line. This revealed obvious damage to the gas line. This damaged section of gas line allowed the gas to leach into the basement of the building. Once in the basement of the building a credible ignition source ignited the gas, causing the ensuing explosion and fire.
After these findings, this fire has been determined to be an accidental fire."
