Residential Fire At 510 N. Nebraska Ave.Keeps LFD Busy

Liberal firefighters were paged at 8:44 am Sunday to 510 N. Nebraska Ave. for a residential structure fire. Initial reports indicated heavy smoke from the building which was believed to be vacant.

Fire units arrived on scene at 8:48 am to find heavy smoke and visible fire which had burned through a wall in the rear of the residence. Firefighters made entry and extinguished most of the fire in the kitchen area, but were hampered by collapsing floor in that room. The remainder of the residence was searched for any unknown occupants and declared clear. Efforts then focused on opening the rear wall to gain access to hidden fire burning in the crawl space beneath the home. After a short time the fire breached the floor area into a bathroom and bedroom in the front half of the residence. This caused an almost immediate deterioration of conditions and flashover inside the home. Firefighters were then forced to fight the fire defensively due to structural instability and heavy fire condition. The fire was finally declared under control at 10:05 am.

The residence is suffered complete burnout of approximately half the building with some structural collapse. This residence was found to be vacant at the time of the fire.

The Liberal Fire Department responded with a total of 17 personnel. Also responding and assisting at the fire were the Liberal Police Department, Seward County EMS and Seward County Sheriff. All fire units were clear of the scene and returned to service at 1:21 pm.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time. Anyone with additional information regarding this fire is urged to contact the Liberal Fire Department at (620) 626-0128. Please ask to speak to Deputy Chief Skeety Poulton or Fire Marshal Cody Regier. Any assistance will be appreciated.