A building in Colonial Pointe at the Fairview apartments caught fire causing displacement and damage to English instructor Kaciee Swierenga’s home on April 13, 2025.
“I’m just silently crying and watching this whole thing happen,” Swierenga said. “We’ve got all kinds of people that do and don’t live in the complex coming up and watching too. Looking at it was surreal.”
The apartment fire was near Highway 75 and Fairview Road. It started at 3:40 p.m. and took approximately an hour and a half to get under control. The fire was caused by inappropriate discarding of smoking materials on a balcony. Battalion Chief Erin McCormick helped with the fire.
“Units from Bellevue Fire, Omaha Fire and Papillion Fire responded,” McCormick said. “Seventeen units were involved. Basically, a cigarette was not properly put out after a person was smoking on the balcony. The biggest challenge of this fire was the weather conditions that day.”
Swierenga and her husband Conner Goff were not in their residence at the time of the fire. Swierenga’s friend made her aware that one of the apartment buildings was on fire. It was only when she met up with her father at the scene that she realized it was her building. Her husband arrived soon after.
“Sure, I saw the smoke driving up, trying to keep calm, but when I saw it, I lost it on my dad full-on, tears. I was yelling, and I sank to my knees and I just watched,” Swierenga said.
Swierenga’s next worry was her pets. She had two cats still in her unit at the time, and they were safely rescued and brought back to her. She and other residents had expensive items and everyday essentials that were most likely damaged due to water or smoke.
“Our team also risked their lives by entering the structure after containment, when the building was severely compromised and not structurally sound, to rescue several pets,” McCormick said. “Not to mention if they had special memories or objects that, if they lost, it would be heartbreaking. We as firefighters feel for these people in these hard times. But we also walk away from an incident like this being glad that no lives were lost because that is not always the case.”
Swierenga, along with others who lived in the building, were forced to relocate. She and her spouse were sent to a property in La Vista with none of their belongings. She had to start from the beginning.
“They moved us to a different property and it’s a little bit of a drive, considering it [the drive to Bellevue East] was 10 minutes before ,” Swierenga said. “My husband and I are avid Hot Wheel collectors. That’s probably $1,500 worth of Hot Wheel gear that’s going to be totally soaked and done. We had just gone Hot Wheel hunting that morning too, and found 30-something cars and my husband’s PC set too, which is also terribly expensive. I wish I could just snap my fingers and make it all better.”
No part of the building ended up being spared. People who were in the building prior self-evacuated. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends that, in the event of an apartment fire, residents should know where all the exit doors and stairs are on their floor and learn their building’s evacuation plan. The U.S. Fire Administration’s website has a detailed guide on what to do in the event of an emergency and how to be prepared.
“The roof and the top floor [third floor] had heavy fire and smoke damage. The rest of the building had heavy water damage,” McCormick said. “Please do not smoke on balconies. And if you do, please do not discard your cigarette in a flowerpot. Most potting soil is very flammable.”
The couple just recently were allowed back into their unit on May 2, 2025. The fire has also taught them to store their things in case of another emergency.
“We actually, this past Friday [May 2], were allowed back into the apartment to gather what we could,” Goff said. “It had been 3 weeks since the fire so there was a lot of mold and mildew inside the unit. We’re much more aware of storing things, if that makes sense? Like we bought a bunch of Rubbermaid of all sizes to start storing new and old [cleaned professionally] items so if we go through such an experience again at least things won’t be wet.”
Since the fire, Swierenga and her husband have received support from their community, family and friends. They’ve received essentials like furniture. Other instructors and students from Bellevue East have also given her support as she continued to work two days after the fire.
“We’ve had an amazing outreach of support through the community and family and friends,” Swierenga said. “I’ve had some people in the English department reach out to me. My students made me an amazing poster, so I have received a lot of support from school too.”
