42 Nebraskaland • November 2025
Part of the fi fth-fl oor wall collapsed onto Farnam Street at
10:30 p.m. Two hours later, the ground fl oor was burning. But
Billy McNamara and his companions were still manning a hose
on the second. They had no warning when a wall collapsed on
them, crashing through the fl oor into the billiard hall below.
For the next few hours, "walls here and there tumbled in
sections" until the fi re burned itself out at 5 a.m. The four
fi remen's charred bodies were recovered from the ruins by
the light of day. That evening, a fi fth fi reman died of injuries
suff ered in another part of the hotel.
The disaster changed Omaha. The city was both grateful
and embarrassed that the arrival of the Council Bluff s fi re
department had saved the rest of downtown. Omaha dismissed
its fi re chief and replaced its volunteers with a professional
fi re department. (The volunteer fi refi ghters that serve many
communities today are far better trained and equipped than
Omaha's old hook-and-ladder companies.)
The Omaha Bee, meanwhile, lambasted residents who
opposed the expense of a city waterworks. Omaha soon built
a system of pressurized fi re hydrants and reservoirs. Although
the city suff ered other major fi res afterward, it would never
again face one so unprepared.
N
Visit the Nebraska State Historical Society's website at
history.nebraska.gov.
"Omaha's First Fire Engine" was brought out for a parade
during the 1939 Golden Spike Days celebration. The event
celebrated the world premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's fi lm
"Union Pacifi c." NSHS RG3882-PH35-47
