West Fargo Family Grateful to Those Who Have Donated After Overnight Fire Destroys Their Home

A West Fargo Family seeks donations after their home was burned down

WEST FARGO, ND — A West Fargo family of six has lost everything.

They were able to escape their home overnight after fire broke out.

“When I woke up and saw the flames last night it was terrifying,” said neighbor, Jerod Klabunde.

West Fargo Firefighter Perry McClellan happened to be on his way home from another fire at about 1 a.m. when he spotted the fire at 703 17th Avenue West.

“He stopped, was about to open the door to the house and the family was coming out and they met him at the door,” said Chief Dan Fuller with the West Fargo Fire Department.

Chief Fuller said after a preliminary investigation, he thinks the fire started on the deck.

Homeowners Angela and Robert Vojacek and their four kids and pets all made it out safely, but their home is a total loss.

Neighbors said taking it all in is even difficult for them.

“We were pretty shook up and it was pretty spooky but we knew they had it under control pretty quickly,” said Klabunde. “They’re really great people and I feel really bad for them.”

“You just don’t think it could happen to you and it’s just in a blink of the eye,” said Brenda Heib, who is related to the family. “At one ‘o clock in the morning yesterday, our whole lives changed. Their lives changed. We’re just really grateful that everybody was okay.”

Heib is a family member of the Vojacek’s and has created a GoFundMe account for anything they might need.

“As you might’ve heard, everything is a total loss so we’re in need of toiletries, clothes and just anything we can get our hands on at this point,” said Heib.

She said she feels grateful seeing how many donations have already been made to help her family after this tragedy.

“We’ve got a lot of people reaching out and helping us already,” she added. “It’s just very heartwarming.”

Firefighters said accidents can happen when you least expect it and this is a reminder to make sure your smoke detectors are always working.

“You still need to check those batteries,” warned Chief Fuller. “You still need to replace them every six months.”

“Me and my wife did talk about that this morning,” said Klabunde. “Changing all of the batteries in the smoke detectors.”