Norfolk Propane Fire Put Out, Evacuations Lifted
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Update
The roads in and out of Norfolk have been reopened and folks who live within a 1 mile radius of the fire site are being allowed back into their homes.
Update
12:30 Thursday-
The fire at a propane tank located near the former Protient Dairy Processing Plant on the 700 block of Omaha Avenue has been put out. Fire crews, lead by Norfolk Fire Chief Shane Weidner, used 3 teams to close a valve on the tank which was feeding the fire.
Using a video feed from a Nebraska State Patrol helicopter, firefighters were able to use a walkie-talkie to communicate from the command center at Sunset Plaza mall with crews at the scene.
Reporter Jessica Cihacek says that although fire officials say the blaze is out, the evacuation orders for a 1 mile radius around the plant are still in effect.
Stay tuned to Channel 9 Eyewitness News for further updates on this breaking news throughout the afternoon.
11am Thursday -
The Norfolk Police Department has confirmed a 30,000-gallon propane tank has caught on fire on the south side of Norfolk, Nebraska. Authorities are going door-to-door carrying out a mandatory evacuation of every building within a 1-mile radius of the fire.
Residents in the evacuation area are being taken to the Norfolk City Auditorium on 1st Street and Norfolk Avenue.
The Nebraska State Patrol says it is sending in a specially equipped helicopter to help monitor the fire.
Just after 7:00 o'clock this morning, Norfolk units responded to a fire at a propane tank near the former Protient Dairy Processing Plant on the 700 block of Omaha Avenue. The tank is on the property, but the abandoned plant itself is not on fire at this time.
Several roads in the area have been closed - Highway 81 is closed at the Highway 32 junction, and Highway 275 is closed at Highway 24.
As of 8:00 o'clock Thursday morning, the fire was still burning, and eyewitnesses have reported flames visible from more than a mile away.
No injuries have yet been reported.
For Anne O'Dey and her family, the explosion served as a rude wake up call.
"It was about 7 o'clock. I was downstairs getting ready for the day and next thing you know, you hear this big boom and my husband was sleeping. He woke up and was like, ‘what was that?' He thought my son fell out of bed and I'm like 'no, it's not from the house, it came from outside,'" recalled the Norfolk resident.
With her house literally right next to the Protient plant, O'Dey ran upstairs to look out the window and saw what looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie.
"The house was just glowing. I was like ‘what in the world' and I look and I'm like 'oh my God,'" she recalled. "You look out the front door and the whole street was just glowing."
O'Dey got her kids up and ready for school. Within 20 minutes police were at her door. Folks within a mile radius of the plant were told to evacuate.
"We just assigned officers to go door to door down each street, make contact. Most of the people were very cooperative, were willing to leave," said Norfolk Police Chief Bill Mizner.
Nearly 8,000 people were evacuated from homes, schools, and businesses and taken to multiple shelters, including one set up by the American Red Cross that provided a lunch and safe place for hundreds of people.
"Any type of explosive-type material, you never know if it's going to explode so of course they were worried about the safety of their citizens and wanted to get them away from that situation," said Heather Claussen of the Red Cross's Northeast Nebraska chapter.
That included shutting down dozens of streets around the plant.
"Everywhere you went in this town, you couldn't get through. Everything was blocked off. It was kind of crazy," said O'Dey.
The evacuation was finally lifted around 1 p.m. O'Dey says she made it back home shortly after 2 p.m., glad that her house was still there and knowing that things could have been a lot worse.
"I don't think there'd be much around here. I'm sure my house would be gone because that's a big tank that's sitting out back there."
