A fire that broke out at a construction company facility southwest of Bennet early Thursday morning was still burning at 9 a.m., according to the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office.Â
The fire at Vogt Construction, 11811 Roca Road, could cause more than $1 million in damage to the building's contents, Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said.
Sheriff's deputies and crews with Bennet Fire and Rescue responded to the blaze shortly after midnight Thursday, where they found the 100-foot-by-200-foot building fully engulfed in flames, Houchin said.Â
No one was in the building when the fire began, he said. The two-story building stored pickup trucks, other construction vehicles and excavating equipment, all of which are expected to be a total loss.Â
Because of the extreme temperatures — about 6 degrees when authorities responded to the fire — crews opted to let the building burn, Houchin said.Â
Crews from Hickman, Southeast Fire and Rescue, Douglas and Palmyra also responded.
Houchin said the Palmyra School District provided a bus to responders to use as a warming center while they fought the blaze.Â
"In the middle of the night, coming out and doing that — that just says what people in Nebraska are like, that's for sure," Houchin said.Â
The State Fire Marshal will investigate the blaze.
Photos: Firefighters in action
Photos: Firefighters in Action
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FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
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FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
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FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
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FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Lincoln Firefighter Nancy Engelbrecht (right) attempts to comfort Shari Elder as Elder watches smoke pour from the apartment building where she lives on Wednesday, March 13, 2013, at 27th and Randolph streets.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Protected against the 1600 degree temperatures emanating from the fire pit, Dorchester Vol. Fire Dept. firefighter Brant Pracheil tosses the Stars and Stripes into the flames on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, during a flag retirement ceremony at the Dorchester American Legion Post 264. A total of 1957 unserviceable flags from the communities of Dorchester, York, Fairmont, Lincoln, Wilber, Fairbury and Crete were retired from life during the ceremony.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
The Stars and Strips opens to the swirling wind from the ladder of Lincoln Fire & Rescue Truck 1 on Friday, March 31, 2017, during the bridge dedication ceremony for Staff Sgt. Patrick Hamburger at the Spirit of '76 Armory.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Surrounded by black smoke, a Lincoln Fire Department firefighter uses a pike pole to open the porch ceiling at the scene of a house fire on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, at 1800 Euclid Avenue.
FRANCIS GARDLER, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Matt Barnard, with Beatrice Rural Fire District, uses a torch to spread flames during a prescribed burn of 45 acres of the prairie at Homestead National Monument of America on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Lincoln Fire and Rescue teams help Alex Lekai and his mother, not pictured, evacuate from her south bottoms home on Thursday, May 7, 2015.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
Cuddling her grandson's dog Milo, homeowner Deborah Ganz is consoled by a neighbor as she watches her garage burn on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, in west Lincoln.
KRISTIN STREFF, Journal Star
Photos: Firefighters in Action
A Lincoln firefighter directs his hose on the roof of La Mexicana Market & Restaurant, 17th and P Streets, on Monday, April 13, 2015.
TED KIRK, Journal Star
Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com .
On Twitter @andrewwegley
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