Vern and Ruth Work awoke Sunday night to smoke alarms going off in their house at 103 W. 7th St. in Herman.
The Herman Volunteer Fire Department, Blair, Kennard and Tekamah fire departments responded to the blaze around 11:30 p.m., which the fire marshal believes started around 9:30 p.m. There were no injuries.
Herman Fire Chief Justin Meyer said the fire was caused by an electrical overload with too many space heaters on old wiring.
"It caught a rafter or insulation on fire and smoldered," he said. "It took four hours to get it under control."
Meyer said the house wasn't a total loss, though he didn't specify a total amount.
"We saved most everything," he said. "It wasn't a loss."
Meyer said the extreme cold temperatures caused one of the Herman fire trucks to freeze and the air brakes on a Blair fire truck froze as well.
"We kept a good rotation with the firefighters and they were able to warm up at the nearby fire hall," Meyer said.
Herman and Tekamah fire departments responded Monday to a call about the fire rekindling, but it was steam from the cold, said Tekamah fire fighter Kim Snow.
