Omaha F/Fs Tackle Vacant Home Blazes

Aug. 30, 2006
Two firefighters were hurt earlier this month when a porch collapsed.

Over the past five nights, the Omaha Fire Department has fought four fires in vacant homes.

Fighting such a fire poses unique risks for the firefighters, according to Battalion Chief John Incontro.

"There might be people sleeping in there or setting up a meth lab or -- we don't know. But we have to treat it like there is somebody in there," Incontro said.

Two Omaha firefighters were injured on Aug. 17 while fighting a vacant-house fire. The porch collapsed on them.

"There's always hidden dangers we don't know about. There could be holes in the floor we don't know about, or ladders laying around, or things like that," Incontro said.

Incontro said the advantage of an occupied home, for firefighters, is that residents can't tell them whether more people or animals are trapped inside.

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