‘It was falling apart right before our faces’: Lincoln family in shock after devastating fire

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – One Lincoln family says they’re grateful to be alive after losing everything in a fire that destroyed their home Tuesday morning. 

It was 7 a.m. when the Downs family woke up to strange sounds coming from outside their window near 25th and L streets.

Gary Downs looked out his bedroom window to see his neighbor’s house engulfed in flames. 

His wife, Terra, quickly got dressed as the two ran from their bedroom to try to get their four kids, three dogs and cat to safety.

Thankfully, one of their daughters had heard a neighbor banging on the door and shouting, “Fire!” so she was able to wake up her siblings upstairs and downstairs. 

“She was definitely the hero of the story,” Terra Downs said. “So, she saved all of her siblings upstairs.” 

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Downs was in so much shock she couldn’t even use her cellphone to call 911. 

They rushed to get their animals out, struggling with a bigger dog and being forced to leave behind their cat, Tink. Downs tried to go back for Tink but couldn’t because glass began to burst around her. 

The Downs took their children away from the scene, with Terra saying she couldn’t let them watch their home burn. 

Though they’d only been there a little over a year, Downs said it was the first place they actually felt at home. 

“We built a home there … and it was falling apart right before our faces,” she said. 

Wednesday brought mixed emotions: crying, remembering and reassuring.

They went to Target for some essentials, with a bag of cat food triggering tears at the memory of Tink’s loss. 

There was a glimmer of hope, as firefighters found Terra’s wallet intact. The money inside is all they have left, she said. 

“Possessions can be replaced, but my family can’t,” Downs added.

Several of their neighbors’ cats are missing after the fire, and the Woods Park community is coming together to help look for them.

Several people were out late Wednesday morning helping their neighbors start to recover, including Macoy Fergus, who lives on the other side of the Downs family.  

“We’re just doing the best that we can to keep an eye out (for the cats),” Fergus said. “People are looking on Facebook pages to make sure if anyone sees any cats that happen to get away. We’re just doing what we can.”