- Rare training opportunity — Full structural burns for live fire training are uncommon, especially in a fast-growing area like western Sarpy County. Chief Pierce noted it had been several years since departments had access to a structure like this and expects it will be several years before it happens again.
- A troubled property re-purposed — The former Super 8 Motel was one of four properties tied to an alleged FBI sex trafficking ring. Rather than sitting vacant during ongoing legal proceedings, the building’s sale to Heimes Corps LLC. allowed it to be used for a public safety purpose before being converted to a parking lot.
- Unresolved fates for the other properties — Three other motels connected to the same case have had varying outcomes. One was demolished, two are still standing, and questions remain about what happens next — with the City of Omaha and the City of Bellevue both yet to respond to requests for comment.
GRETNA, Neb. (KMTV) — A motel once connected to an alleged sex trafficking ring will be burned down as part of a live fire training exercise for area firefighters.
The Inn, formerly known as the Super 8 Motel in Gretna, was one of four motels involved in an alleged sex trafficking ring. Its owners were arrested in an FBI raid. Now, almost exactly a year later, the building is set to be burned down in a live training event that will bring firefighters from 7 departments together.
“It’s exciting to see this terrible thing that happened have some sense of positive outcome in a way if you will,” Gretna Fire Chief Nick Pierce said…