Nebraska Firefighters Injured Battling Blaze

A fire at Stern Oil Co. south of Council Bluffs in Mills County is estimated to have done $1 million in damage, and was mostly under control by about 11:30 a.m. LIVE: Fire Update Near 190th Street and Applewood Road -- just off Interstate 29 and Highway 370 -- the warehouse erupted in flames at about 4:30 a.m., according to officials. A nearby resident heard an explosion and called 911. Several big explosions were heard in the area, according to a KETV NewsWatch 7 crew at the scene. Crews mostly had to fight the fire from a distance. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries in a fall, officials said. The building is an oil and lubricant storage facility with 14 outdoor tanks and four indoor tanks. All of the tanks were full, officials said. Those materials fueled the fire, and forced firefighters to use special materials besides water to treat the fire. The water that was used had to be trucked in because there were no hydrants nearby. Jeff Hutcheson of the Council Bluffs Fire Department said fighting a chemical fire is a time-consuming process, but that the rural fire departments on the scene are experts at it because they often respond to blazes with no hydrants around. Crews from Lewis Township, Treynor and Oak Township are fighting the fire, among others. The Environmental Protection Agency is sending an airplane from Kansas City, Mo., to fly through the plumes of smoke and determine how toxic the fire has made the air in the area. Early indications were that the wind was helping to break up the smoke plume, an official told KETV NewsWatch 7. The EPA will also use a ground crew. The ground crews said there was no contamination to the Missouri River in an early tour of that area. There is speculation among investigators at the scene that the fire sparked in a pickup truck parked near the building. The owner of Stern Oil, Gillas Stern, said drums of oil likely caused the explosions. Gillas said there are no sprinkler systems in his building and no firefighting tools at the site. Hutcheson said Stern Oil has eight employees, all of which have been accounted for. The last employee left at about 9 p.m. Wednesday. Hutcheson said radiant heat from the fire could be felt up to 300 feet away. The Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office will investigate once the fire is completely extinguished. Watch more complete coverage on KETV NewsWatch 7 or refresh this page.