Lincoln firefighters found smoke coming from a condemned home near 8th and ‘H’ Street around 4:15 Tuesday afternoon. They also found something they weren’t expecting. “As they were entering and looking for the source of the smoke, they found several squatters in the building,” says Public Information Officer MJ Lierman.
She says about three of four people ran out of the house and were gone before police arrived. Firefighters eventually found a smoldering mattress that was the source of the smoke. Lierman says this is the time of year when homeless people break into vacant buildings to seek shelter from the cold.
Lierman says these types of calls are difficult for firefighters. “It takes a lot of resources and it’s dangerous for our crews to respond to these condemned houses for their safety and when there is evidence of people inside. It’s just dangerous for everybody involved.”
Lierman says crews encountered hoarding conditions as they made their was through the house. No one was hurt.