‘Doesn’t feel real’: Family vacationing at Disney World will return to home destroyed by fire

BROOKLYN, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - An Ohio family who took a trip to Disney World will be returning to a home destroyed by a fire.

Shannon Gaughan told WOIO their Brooklyn home caught fire around 4 a.m. on June 11.

“It almost doesn’t feel real, I think we are still in shock. I have moments when I am devastated and I have to pull together because I know the kids are watching us,” she said.

A neighbor called 911 and thought the family was trapped inside.

“Her name is Carol and her family, she woke everyone up and they came across the street screaming, crying, and hitting the windows and doors thinking we were still inside, burning alive,” Michael Gaughan said.

Police urged the family to come back to Cleveland. However, the Gaughans said they decided to stay longer for the children.

“We wanted them to have a couple of more days of normal, of some happiness, before we go home to whatever that may look like,” Shannon Gaughan said.

Michael Gaughan said hearing the news made him numb while at the “happiest place on Earth.”

“You’re at the most magical place in the world. It’s almost like you’re walking through fog the entire time you are here,” Michael Gaughan said.

The family’s cat was inside the home, but managed to escape to safety.

Brooklyn Fire Chief Kevin Paul said the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

A GoFundMe account has been established by Michael Gaughan’s sister has raised $4,200 of its $10,000.

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