‘I get sad thinking of all the memories’: Family picks up the pieces after Raymond fire

RAYMOND, Neb. (KLKN) – A family is taking a step toward the future after their Raymond house was destroyed.

“It just feels like a dream, and like I was trying to wake up,” Madeline Franks said.

That dream was a nightmare for Franks on March 4.

She stayed home sick from work on that Monday, and she was outside talking to her friend that afternoon.

That’s when her boyfriend, TJ, came outside. He told them he smelled smoke but didn’t know where it was coming from.

SEE ALSO: Home destroyed, multiple pets killed in northern Lancaster County fire

Soon after, they saw flames coming from the crawl space. The blaze was burning through the floor and filling the house with smoke.

TJ ran inside and saved their two dogs, but four cats died in the fire.

Franks said that has been the most difficult thing to come to terms with.

“I would take the house being complete ash if that meant we got the kitties out all right,” she said.

Investigators found that the accidental fire was caused by an “electrical issue.”

The home and most of their belongings inside were deemed a total loss.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office valued it all at more than $100,000.

Franks’ sister started a GoFundMe to help the family recoup some of their losses.

Franks said she and her friend had moved into the home last year, but TJ and his 11-year-old son lived there for more than 10 years.

“We were starting a life together,” she said. “I mean, I get sad thinking of all the memories they have in that house.”

After the fire, Franks, her boyfriend and his son lived in a hotel for a week, then stayed in a camper for another 2½ weeks before they found an apartment.

The three of them began the moving process this week.

Franks said while this has been a difficult past month, she’s still determined to eventually accomplish her and TJ’s dream of building a home.

“We’re going to work our butts off and hopefully still build what we had planned,” she said. “It’ll just take a little longer now.”