In its heyday, this seemingly luxurious estate in Gretna, Neb., was described as the "finest mansion in all of Sarpy County." But soon it will be burned to the ground, set on fire room-by-room as part of firefighter training for the Gretna Volunteer Fire Department...Backstory at Omaha.com, via AolRealEstate.
How sad. It would make a wonderful wedding or event site.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity that the house neglected to the point of being so moldy that it was unsafe to enter without a mask. At least it will be put to good use and perhaps the training the firefighter receive will save some lives and dwellings in the future.
ReplyDeleteI found out the very first home my husband and I lived in is now gone- burned down for firefighter training. It certainly wasn't an elegant mansion but a very modest 1950s era ranch infested with black widow spiders and termites on a military base. The new houses are energy efficient and up to code, I'm sure.
I'm having a hard time picturing this in Gretna...in 1977 when my family left Sarpy County (I even attended Peter Sarpy Elementary in Bellevue), Gretna was far more cornfields than homes. It is sad to have no recourse but fire for the property, but at least the burn will be studied and useful for future fires.
ReplyDeleteThe Alaska Dispatch (great newspaper: I guarantee AK news is more exciting than your local news) just had a great piece about an intentional home-burning like this. Be sure and click over to the Juneau Empire link if you're interested in the details.
ReplyDeleteThere are some comments in the Empire article discussing whether the owner took a tax deduction for the "donation" of his house to the fire department. Interesting twist to the story...
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