Oxford home heavily damaged by Monday afternoon fire, no injuries reported

Oxford, Neb. — Multiple fire departments responded Monday afternoon to fight a house fire in Oxford in southern Nebraska. Oxford Volunteer Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Bill Grosnicklus says upon arrival, smoke was showing and the back porch was fully engulfed. Chief Grosnicklus says mutual aid was requested and provided by Stamford, Orleans, Beaver City, Edison, Arapahoe and Holbrook. He says within 20 minutes of arriving at the scene, the fire was contained mainly to the back area of the house including the porch, kitchen and a small storage room. Grosnicklus says the State Fire Marshal arrived to look for the origin of the fire and assess the damage…

Grosnicklus says, “The back porch, where we knew the fire did start, we found an old freezer and it looks like, either the pump on that freezer, or something along that line, is what caused the fire. That was the only piece of electrical equipment on the back porch, so that’s pretty much going to be the culprit, it was very well burned out right where that freezer was sitting.”

An occupant of the house and a dog were able to leave the house safely. No injuries to firefighters were reported.

The State Fire Marshal determined the house sustained about $80,000 in damage. Considered by some Oxford residents as unusual, the residence, which has been around for decades, is an A-Frame with a flat roof. Grosnicklus says the house is framed with steel beams and has standard construction in between the beams. Thick, black smoke poured from the house as a result of the house containing an abundance of foam insulation.