UPDATE: Fire at home near 84th & O being investigated as arson

Lincoln Police have confirmed they are investigating a fire in a neighborhood near 84th and O street as an arson. 

The home, located at 7810 N Hazelwood Drive is a total loss, with the damage totaling $185,000. 

A Lincoln Police Investigator and fire investigator are assigned to the case. 

________________________________________________________________________

Joy Huber, the girlfriend of David Hill who lives in the home, said the second cat, Pepper, has been located and is okay. 

He’s been reunited with the family.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue found their other cat Tiger, shortly after the fire was put out. Tiger was also unharmed.

_________________________________________________________________________

A Lincoln man lost everything after an early morning fire near 84th and O street.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue don’t yet know what happened, which has David Hill, who lived in the home, and his girlfriend Joy Huber racking their minds. Huber said. Trying to figure out what could have caused Hill’s east Lincoln home to go up in flames. 

“When you get that call it’s the shock of your life,” Huber said. “That the fire department is at your house, at his house, that there’s a fire there, your mind just races.”

Huber said she’s been thinking about the moments leading up to the fire. She and Hill left it at 5:30 a.m. and everything was okay. 

She’s been thinking about the belongings inside, the gifts for Hill’s 11-year-old son.

“All the Christmas presents that were bought, all the clothes, everything is in your home,” she said. 

Neither Hill nor Huber were there when the fire started. Two cats named Tiger and Pepper were. 

“I think my first thought was the cats,” Huber said. “You know there’s two so we’ve gotten one but we don’t know about the other one yet.”

Firefighters said they’ve seen Pepper, who is still missing, but haven’t been able to catch him. Tiger was found unharmed and returned to the family. 

Huber said she has no idea what started the fire that brought several fire crews and a large police presence to the area. 

“They’ve said they’re going through the house and going through the rooms to try and determine the cause of the fire,” Huber said. “Basically we’ve heard we’re working on it.”

Hill cannot return to the home and is planning on staying in a hotel Thursday night. Red Cross was at the scene to help.

The fire investigator is still on the scene. As soon as a cause of fire is released, Channel 8 Eyewitness News will update this story. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Officials are investigating a Thursday morning house fire in east Lincoln. 

The fire, which started just before 9 a.m. at the home at 7810 N Hazelwood Drive, has been put out. 

Heavy smoke could be seen pouring out of the structure. 

Crews appeared to be using chainsaws on the roof. 

LFR says the fire caused significant damage to the home. 

No injuries were reported, but firefighters did say a cat had to be rescued from the home. 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. 

This is a developing story, we will continue to provide updates as they become available.