Firefighters Torch Nebraska Mansion for Training

Firefighters are burning down a decaying mansion near Gretna, Neb., room by room for training.

The 14,000-square-foot mansion that businessman and former NFL player Rod Kush built was torched by firefighters on Sunday.

The massive home was once worth roughly $2.5 million. Kush sold it for $1.6 million in 2008. That buyer donated the home to Catholic Charities, but the group failed to open a planned youth treatment center.

The mansion and the surrounding 35 acres, which once held a three-hole golf course, was sold two years ago to an Elkhorn developer for $612,000.

The developer needs to clear the mold-covered mansion for a project on the land, so firefighters are getting a special training experience.