Business owners along Main Street in Plattsmouth understand the problems Old Market retailers are facing following an explosion that destroyed a building at 11 th and Howard in the Old Market.
This week we learned utility workers outside M's Pub ruptured a gas line on the afternoon of January 9th. It led to an explosion in the historic building. Firefighters fought the blaze for hours. At one point flames could be seen shooting from the windows and roof of the Mercer Building.
As Plattsmouth residents watched the inferno in the news, it reminded them of their own fire in January 2014. Firefighters battled a blaze at historic buildings at the intersection of 4th and Main. The building was iced over for weeks after the fire. As the debate over saving the structure raged on, streets were also blocked to traffic.
A busy block of the Old Market near the fire site remained closed Friday evening. Crews reopened a closed portion of the sidewalk there so Old Market Passageway businesses could reopen their storefronts.
Click the story link above to see images of both historic fires and hear from Plattsmouth businesses who have spent two years trying to recoup from their own historic blaze.
