- Video shows flames coming out Highpoint apartments in north west Omaha, fire trucks, and residents clearing out damaged apartments.
- A fire broke out at the Highpoint apartment complex in northwest Omaha on Monday afternoon, displacing 60 residents.
- Fire trucks quickly responded to the scene as flames engulfed part of the building. Affected residents have since returned to retrieve their belongings from the damaged apartments.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Melissa Wright at the Highpoint apartments, in north west Omaha where the building behind is me is boarded up and completely empty after a fire forced 60 people to leave. Now, I’m speaking with firefighters about why this fire was so damaging and what you can do at home to make sure your family is safe.
This apartment, now covered in icicles following a major fire Monday. 24 units were destroyed. The investigation is still open but I’ve learned, that while there were working smoke detectors and alarms inside, this building did not have a sprinkler system. That’s because it was constructed before they were legally required. That means all of this water inside an apartment came from fire hoses.
I talked with Omaha Fire Battalion Chief, Coby Werner about the latest on the investigation. He says, this actually could have been worse except a fire wall slowed down flames.
“While those apartments on the south side might've gotten a little water damage and might've gotten some smoke damage that fire wall did a really good job of stopping the progression of that fire so those building on the south didn't get completely destroy," said Werner.
Then I chatted with captain Nick Lemek about keeping your family safe, no matter where you live. He recommends, making sure all smoke alarms, fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors are all up to date and working. And now that the weather is cold be extra careful with space heaters.
“Masking sure you’re not into an outlet with too many things plugged in and following those directions, another thing too is there have been a lot of fires started before from materials touching that space heater,” said Lemek.
And if you live in an apartment know the fastest way out. In Omaha, I’m Melissa Wright.
