ALLIANCE, Neb. – An Alliance man was arrested Friday evening accused of assaulting the city’s assistant fire chief by discharging a fire extinguisher into his face, according to the Alliance Police Department.

Officers were dispatched around 6:44 p.m. to the 600 block of Laramie Avenue for a reported assault. Assistant Fire Chief Bradley Schrum told police he saw a man and woman walking northbound on Cheyenne Avenue near the Alliance Fire Hall. The man was reportedly using a fire extinguisher in the driveway and on the sidewalk outside the building.

When Schrum confronted the pair in the 600 block of Laramie Avenue, the man approached the driver’s side of Schrum’s pickup and discharged the extinguisher directly into his face. Police said the discharge caused temporary breathing difficulty, eye irritation,and left residue inside the vehicle.

Officers located the two individuals a short time later. The man, identified as 46-year-old Fred John Red Nest of Alliance, refused multiple commands to stop and was taken into custody with assistance from additional officers. There was no report of the female being arrested. 

Red Nest was booked into the Box Butte County Jail on felony assault and additional charges. The case has been forwarded to the Box Butte County Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

The Alliance Police Department thanked the Alliance Fire Department for its assistance during the incident.