Man arrested after fire | Business looks toward recovery

Lincoln Police have arrested 66-year-old James Cothran for the Thursday morning fire at 47th and Prescott.

Cothran was arrested Friday shortly after 9:00 a.m.

Police said Cothran lives at Prescott Place at 46th and Prescott. He was seen in the area of the Locker Room around midnight or 1:00 a.m. Thursday.

According to police, Cothran has a fear of spiders and used a lighter to set a spider web on fire at the Locker Room. Police said he left a smoldering fire.

Cothran is also facing a charge of attempted first degree arson for attempting to set a fire to the column of a front porch at Prescott Place.

The damage to the Locker Room and the nearby businesses is estimated at $100,00 to $150,000.

"It’s too early to tell how soon we can re-open until we have specific timelines from the restoration company," said Pete McCann, owner of The Locker Room. "But our goal is to be open by Thanksgiving, at this point we don’t know if it will be the Prescott location or another location in Lincoln."

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Lincoln Fire and Rescue are now investigating the fire that started at a local business at 47th Street and Prescott Avenue, Thursday.

LFR was called to the scene shortly after 7:30 in the morning.

Firefighters were seen coming in an out of a business called The Locker Room.

Firefighters at the scene said the fire started at the back of "The Locker Room." It appeared to originate in the area of some electrical boxes.

Four other businesses neighboring The Locker Room suffered smoke and water damage, but the extent is still unknown.

According to a website for "The Locker Room," it's a business that designs and sells promotional products.

10/11 spoke with the owner of Swiss Clock, a nearby business.

Samuel Grandjaen said he someone knocked on his door at about 7:30 a.m., and said there was a fire in the back of the building. When he saw some flames on some siding, he tried to put the fire out with a trash can. That is about the time fire trucks arrived.

"I had to evacuate the building and then that's when we found out the fire was a lot more extensive then it looked like on the back of the building," said Grandjaen. "When they came and busted the door I realized it was a lot more intense then I thought it was."

Statement from The Locker Room

The Locker Room, formerly Stacy's Locker Room, a Lincoln sporting goods company, located in the College View area at 4707 Prescott caught fire in the early morning on Thursday, September 29th.

Fortunately, it was before business hours, so no customers or employees were present. No one was hurt, but there substantial property damage. The Lincoln Fire Department and Police Department did a great job on the scene.

While the store will be closed for awhile as we work on reconstruction and restoration, The Locker Room will continue to serve our customers from our Omaha facility, Ideal Images. You can still call us at 402-483-1962 or contact our sales team by email or cell phone to check on orders, make arrangements for delivery, or discuss new business.

While we are working remotely from Omaha for now, we still have our staff based in Lincoln that will be visiting with coaches, athletic directors, schools and others. We are committed to Lincoln and our customers. We will rebuild and be fully operational as soon as possible.

Thanks for your support,