OMAHA, Neb. --
Fifty firefighters were still at the scene early Thursday evening of blaze that broke out 15 hours earlier in Elkhorn.
Firefighters were called to Sempeck’s Elkhorn Lanes around 1:30 a.m. The business is located at 204th and Wirt streets just south of West Maple Road.
Crews rotated fire engines to and from the scene. No injuries were reported.
The fire was declared out just before 5 p.m. Thursday.
Nearly 100 firefighters arrived to battle the two-alarm blaze in what some of them said were the worst conditions they've ever faced. Temperatures were in the single digits and the wind chill was hovering around minus 20. Ice is also a major issue in fighting the blaze.
The building was declared a total loss.
"Our whole lives revolve around this place," said Elkhorn Lanes owner Steve Sempeck. "It's just like losing a member of a family. I think we're all in shock."
Sempeck said leagues were canceled at the bowling alley Wednesday night due to the weather and the business closed early. He said there was nothing out of the ordinary when they left the business. Sempeck said he's "a bowling guy" and he intends to stay in the business.
After 23 years in the business, he said bowling is all he knows.
"The people of Elkhorn are just the most unbelievably supportive people, and I'm sure they'd want us back," Sempeck said.
A Keno bar next door to the business was also destroyed by the fire.
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