April 12, 2018 - 4:01 PM
HARRISBURG, Neb. - The U.S. Air Force is investigating what caused an electrical problem at a western Nebraska missile alert facility that forced two officers to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Area firefighters and medics responded Tuesday afternoon to the facility near Harrisburg in Banner County. The facility is a support and living area where a missile launch crew is on alert and is geographically separated from the Minuteman III missiles, which are several miles away, said Lt. Mikayla Gomez with the 90th Missile Wing.
Gomez said firefighters confirmed there was no fire. The smoke was a result of the overheating of electrical equipment in an underground equipment building.
Col. Matthew Dillow of the 90th Missile Wing said the public was never in danger "and the safety and security of the Minuteman system was never in doubt."
The 90th Missile Wing is based at F.E. Warren Air Force Base near Cheyenne, Wyoming. The wing operates 150 Minuteman III nuclear missiles in silos scattered across western Nebraska, eastern Wyoming and northeast Colorado.
The two officers — a man and a woman — were treated at Regional West Medical Center for smoke inhalation. Their names have not been released.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018