A criminal investigation is underway following house fires at a home on West Overland both Monday and Tuesday night.
On Monday evening, the Scottsbluff Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire at 1902 West Overland. Upon arrival, they observed heavy smoke conditions but located the main body of fire on the exterior of the home.
Fire Chief Tom Schingle says that fire was quickly knocked down on the exterior and then efforts began to mitigate the fire that intruded into the home.
Approximately 24 hours later, crews were dispatched to the same address and encountered heavy smoke and fire conditions but were able to knockdown the main body of fire. Schingle tells KNEB News that due to the fire travel in the structure, an elevated master stream from Tower 1 was used to finish extinguishing the fire.
He says the investigation revealed that both the Monday evening fire and the Tuesday evening fire were likely to be intentionally set and the investigation has been turned over to the Scottsbluff Police Department.
Gering Fire, Regional West Emergency Medical Services, and Nebraska Public Power District also assisted, and one firefighter sustained a minor injury.
