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Omaha firefighters continued to pour water on the skeleton of the building at 11th and Howard streets Sunday morning.The flames destroyed M's Pub, Nouvelle Eve and the condos above the businesses in Omaha's historic Old Market."It does hurt," said Omaha resident Lori Hubbell.The iconic awnings were caked with icicles and the heart of the Old Market was off limits to everyone except firefighters and city crews trying to manage the ice in below-zero temperatures.According to a release from Metropolitan Utilities District, MUD received a locate request via the Nebraska One Call Center for a locate of gas and water utilities for a contractor working near 11th and Howard streets.MUD completed the request on Jan. 4 to refresh the locate markings of all MUD facilities, including mains and service lines in the area.The release said that MUD cannot verify the locate markings due to the condition of the structure at 11th and Howard, as well as the icy conditions. MUD has no reason to believe the locates were not correct, according to the release.A non-MUD contractor was working in the area of 11th and Howard on Saturday, and MUD's dispatch office heard over the scanner that a working fire was reported in the area, with a possible building explosion with natural gas involved, shattering windows of M's Pub and sending a column of flames up from the basement access area next to the front patio."All of a sudden, (there was) an explosion from the floor," M's Pub employee Angelina Mangiamelli said. "I was standing there and a couple other girls I work with were standing and we just fell."When crews arrived they found fire coming up from the basement of the building and could smell natural gas.Several people also reported the strong smell of natural gas.At least one person was taken to the hospital with injuries; others scrambled to safety.Dispatchers notified technicians at 2:53 p.m. and they arrived at the scene by 3:16 p.m., the release said, and they shut down the gas main and service lines.Crews entered the building soon after and searched for possible occupied apartments on the second, third and fourth floors, but did not find any residents.Once the gas was controlled, crews tried to address the interior, but were forced out due to the fire conditions.Gas was off to the building at 4:28 p.m., which the Omaha Police Department verified.Additional technicians were on site between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. to check atmosphere levels in the adjoining buildings, underground vaults and sewers.A gas leak survey was conducted and no leaks were detected. MUD technicians also drove a gas leak survey truck to check sewers and vaults about a block and a half around the affected area. No leaks were detected.The investigation into the incident is being hindered by the condition of the structure, the extreme weather and icy conditions, the release said.MUD continues to cooperate with the State Fire Marshal and the Omaha Fire Department."It was... I've never experienced anything like it before. It sounded like sometimes when a transformer will go off, there's that big boom. I've never been inside a building where the walls shook like that, so it was kind of scary," said Pam King, who works in the Old Market.A manager at M's Pub told KETV NewsWatch 7 that crews working to install fiber optic cable might have ruptured a gas line.The manager said everyone in the restaurant made it out safely. He also said he never saw flames inside the restaurant.Neighbors next door heard the explosion and windows shattering on the outside of the building."You could still smell a very strong smell of gas, which was about a block and a half away, about 100 yards down from M's Pub. You could see people running away, and the gas was flaring the flames in front of M's Pub," nearby resident Tom Fennell said.The resulting fire raged through the evening and was declared a third alarm at 7:26 p.m.Shortly after 8 p.m. firefighters were told to stay clear of the "collapse zone."The roof of the building collapsed at 10:30 p.m. amid reports that parts of the first floor of the building had also collapsed into the basement of the structure.Omaha Fire Chief Bernie Kanger said the fire thrived on all the wood in the historic building, and spread quickly through voids and open spaces between walls in the condos above the restaurant.The smoke could be seen from blocks away, the haze rising over the Omaha skyline.The fire was declared under control around midnight and about 60 firefighters were on the scene to help control the blaze. They battled the fire, the extreme cold, ice and equipment issues due to the cold.One occupant of the building suffered lacerations and singed hair while exiting the building before crews arrived. Another person was taken to a hospital for a broken leg after slipping on ice around 6:30 p.m.No firefighters were injured in the process of the nearly 10-hour fire.The condos above M's Pub are a total loss, and the American Red Cross provided assistance for displaced residents to find shelter.Authorities shut down several Old Market streets entirely late Saturday night."Officers are closing Howard and Harney streets from 13th to 10th streets. Eleventh Street from Farnam to Jackson Street is closed to ALL traffic. No foot traffic will be allowed in the area," the Omaha Fire Department wrote on its Facebook page.Firefighters called MUD to shut off gas service to the area.Kanger also said due to weather conditions, pumps had started to freeze and water was puddling on the ground. Sunday morning, firefighters routinely had to hack hoses free of the ice that froze them to the ground.At one point, fire crews said 3 feet of water had puddled in the basement, preventing OFD recon teams from accessing upper floors of a building to the west of the original fire scene."What I can report is we've evacuated all of the exposure buildings. We have a defensive perimeter set up around M's Pub, so we believe that the fire will be contained to the area that it's located," Kanger said.The fire building is part of five buildings that extend from 11th Street to the west. The fire building and the building next to it are part of the "exclusion zone" that has been established, where no one is allowed.Fire officials are attempting to have the utilities for the next three buildings to the west turned back on so that pipes do not freeze, and are in the process of turning custody of those buildings back to their owners. Those businesses include Stokes restaurant and Billy Frogs bar and grill.Road closures in the area include 10th Street to 12th Street at Howard and 11th Street north from Howard to Harney streets.Fire crews are still on the scene Sunday, as well as fire investigators.The cause of the fire is still under investigation.M’s Pub is one of the cornerstone businesses in Omaha’s Old Market.The restaurant opened in 1973. Just a few years later, developer Sam Mercer launched the "Old Market" concept.The building housing M’s Pub was built in the 1900s. The Old Market area was the hub of wholesale and distribution businesses for 80 years before its transformation to the district it is today.The damage to M's Pub and the building it calls home leaves many people emotional about the possible loss."My heart goes out to the owners and the employees who had to go through it today, the other employees who know the effects of what's going to happen," Mangiamelli said.Siedlik said he's been visiting the bar for years."We've been coming down here for years and years with my wife," he said. "In the summertime, we would sit out here and just have a great meal. M's was just a wonderful place."