November 2025 • Nebraskaland 41
pump water higher than the third fl oor.
Onlookers fi lled surrounding blocks. It seemed the whole
city turned out to watch. The hotel and adjacent buildings
swarmed with men hauling anything movable to safety. The
Omaha Herald moved their presses. An undertaker moved his
coffi ns.
"Great excitement and confusion prevailed among
the fi remen during the fi re," the Bee reported, "and there
seemed to be a general lack of order, management, and good
judgment." Telegrammed by Omaha's mayor, the Council
Bluff s fi re department arrived between 10 and 11 p.m. By
then, the fi re was down to the fourth and third stories.
The Union Pacifi c Railroad had its own volunteer fi re company, the Durant Engine and Hose Co., shown here in May 1875.
NSHS RG2341-PH0-98
