Lexington, Neb. — The Lexington Volunteer Fire Department (LVFD) was called to a fire at a north-central home shortly after 4:00 a.m. Wednesday.
Law enforcement officers who arrived before firefighters said it appeared an addition in the back of the house at 1404 Madison Street was fully engulfed. Family members in the home at the time of the fire were able to make it out safely.
LVFD Assistant Fire Chief Dahlas Holbein says the State Fire Marshal was summoned to help in identifying the cause of the fire. Holbein says firefighters with the help of the Fire Marshal traced the cause to an electrical problem in a light over a back patio…
“We believe there was an electrical short in a porch light and it was on the back patio. And as it shorted out — they had some cushions from the lawn furniture they had moved underneath the covered part of their patio to keep it dry because it was raining yesterday (Tuesday). We just believe something in that light shorted out and when it shorted out — it dropped down and caught the cushions on fire and from there the deck and the back of the house.”
Holbein says the two-story house suffered a significant amount of damage to the back of the home and the family members will be displaced for an extended period of time. Holbein said approximately six trucks and 25 firefighters went to the scene.
