Shadow Brook Farm Country Market looks ahead after devastating fire

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Shadow Brook Farm Country Market went up in flames Monday morning, injuring one of their own, and now the family is left picking up the pieces.

“We were woken up in the morning to dogs barking and Ian pounding on our door alerting us to it, and I looked out the door and there were flames in the middle portion of the building which you can see behind a good 10 or 15 feet above the roofline at that point. It’s something you never want to be woken up for.” Charuth Vanbeuzekom and Kevin Loth, co-owners of the farm said.

Kevin Loth and his wife Charuth Vanbeuzekom woke up to flames taking over their livelihood, the Shadow Brook Farm Country Market.

“We were very disoriented and it took us a minute to be able to collect the composure to dial 911,” Loth said.

One of the co-owners, Ian, was injured by the fire. He was rushed to a local hospital where he is still recovering but expected to be okay.

“He definitely got some bad burns, mostly second-degree, a little bit of third-degree, so he might need a little bit of skin graft on one hand,” Vanbeuzekom said.

“I went and visited Ian again this morning and his spirits are really good. His face is rosy, he’s got some cheek burns and he got some hand burns, but the prognosis is really good, he’ll make a full recovery,” Loth said.

Now it’s time to clean up what’s left behind and start over, a business that’s stood tall on West Denton road since the late 90s.

“I want to have optimism, but the optimism could be that we’re moving on, we don’t think so, we’re pretty strongly committed to continuing, rebuilding,” Loth said. “We have considered retail spaces in town before, this might be an opportunity for that, it might be an opportunity to spice this place up a little bit, we just don’t know yet.”

They said in light of the situation, they have received an overwhelming amount of support from the community – something they are beyond grateful for.

“There are just so many people reaching out to us and just asking what can we do, when can we do it, how can we show up and just give us a shovel, give us a broom, let us know what you need.”

A GoFundMe is in the works for Ian to help cover medical expenses and replenish special seeds that were lost in the fire.

No word yet on what caused the fire. During an initial investigation, the fire marshal estimated $200,000 in total loss.