Fire Displaces Nebraska Department of Insurance

By Allison Bell

February 21, 2018 at 12:06 PM

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A fire that broke out early Monday morning, on the eighth floor of the Terminal Building in Lincoln, Nebraska, has forced the Nebraska Department of Insurance to move to a temporary location.

The department moved to the second floor of the Terminal Building, from the second floor, in January.

The department is now operating out of a temporary location a few blocks away, in the Nebraska State Office Building.

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Bruce Ramge, the director of the department, said in an email that, although the fire started on the eighth floor of the Terminal Building, the fire, and efforts to control the fire, caused water and smoke damage in the department's offices.

"We expect to secure a larger temporary location soon and may need to use a temporary location for up to 120 days," Ramge said.

The Terminal Building is a 10-story office building that was erected in 1916 and is in the National Register of Historic Places.

The fire began around 6 a.m. Central Standard Time, according to local news reports. The Lincoln Fire & Rescue Department reported on its Twitter account that there were no occupants when the fire broke out, because of the early hour and the Presidents' Day holiday.

The fire started on a floor occupied by Legal Aid of Nebraska, officials said. The fire caused extensive damage to that organization's offices, according to an account posted by Erin Cihal, a Legal Aid staff member. Legal Aid has been working to set up a temporary location for its office.

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