Fire destroys Nickerson home

Kathleen Coartney had an eye on the weather Tuesday night.

“I was going to go to bed and decided that I would stay up and watch the news,” she said.

That is about the time lightning struck the home she, her husband, Carl “C.J.”, and their sons live in at 2270 County Road O Blvd.

“It was like an explosion, a huge flash of light and then it was dark because we lost power,” Kathleen continued.

A few minutes later, Kathleen, who was home alone with their two boys, Zach, 10, and Seth, 5, knew something was wrong.

Kathleen said she could smell something electrical burning.

“I grabbed the cell phone and called 911,” Kathleen said, “While I was on the phone, I grabbed the kids and put them in the car.”

It took four volunteer fire departments to battle the fire, which left little of the house standing.

Nickerson Volunteer Fire Chief Rick Tucker said his crew was called at 10:22 p.m.

“When we got there, there were flames through the roof,” Tucker said

Kathleen had called C.J., who works nights in Blair. He arrived home around 10:40 p.m.

“I could really see the smoke as soon as I got to the hill. I knew it was pretty much gone,” he said.

“At least they put the tractor fire out so we could save the shed,” Kathleen said.

The shed, separated from the home by little more than the width of the old tractor, housed the Coartney’s two German shepherds.

The dogs were unharmed.

Also unharmed were two rabbits that were locked in a hutch on the north exterior of the home.

“They used to be house bunnies,” Kathleen said, “When they got bigger, we built them a hutch, just outside.”

Firefighters from Winslow, Hooper and the Fremont Rural fire departments were called in to aid Nickerson in fighting the fire. The fire was under control by about 3 a.m.

“It was about 3:30 in the morning when the fire marshal left,” Kathleen added.

The Dodge County Chapter of the American Red Cross was also on the scene to find temporary housing for the Coartney family.

Tucker said the house was a total loss, but there were no injuries. The loss was estimated at more than $200,000.

“We’ll rebuild,” Kathleen said.

The Coartneys had lived in their home for the past two years and say that the foundation is still solid.

“We only have water damage in the basement,” C.J. said.

The family planned to spend the rest of Wednesday pulling water-damaged property from the basement before returning to their motel room in Fremont.