Fire destroyed the 52-year-old home of Donna and Marvin Wanzek last month. Now, the couple is living in a hotel and asking those wanting to donate to instead give the money to the rural fire department that helped battle the blaze.
No one was home around 8 p.m. May 20 when a fire ignited in the detached garage at their home just south of Windsor, N.D. Twelve firefighters from the Cleveland Fire Department battled the blaze until 2 a.m., but today, little remains -- only rubble and basement walls.
"We keep telling each other it will be OK and it will," Donna Wanzek said Monday.
No one was injured; even the couple's pets are OK.
"We had 52 years of our life burned to the ground, no baby pictures, no wedding pictures, nothing," Donna said.
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The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It appears accidental, according to Paul Worm at Nodak Mutual Insurance, the Wanzek's insurance company.
The Wanzeks built their three-bedroom home on the land of Marvin's family. They raised their six children in that house, Terry (Janice), Tracy (Naomi) and Gail all of Jamestown, Lori (Bob) Schwab, Montrose, Colo., Tim (Susan) Inver Grove Heights, Minn., and Lynn (Steve) Haugen of Mandan, N.D.
Marvin and Donna recently renovated parts of the home and considered updating more. Their plan was to live on their farm until their age or health required them to move nearer to Jamestown.
"We don't want to leave the farm yet, we don't want to get out of there," she said.
In fact, the Wanzeks were in Jamestown when the fire started, Marvin said. They were looking at homes here checking out ideas for siding. Their son, Tracy, discovered the fire.
The fire started at the garage, but with the winds that evening, quickly spread to corner of the home where his parents' slept, Tracy said. Had the fire occurred in the middle of the night, he said, the outcome may have differed.
"They would have had no time to get out," Tracy said, saying he was thankful the fire started when it did.
The fire left the Wanzeks with not much besides their wallets and the clothes on their back, but immediately after the fire the American Red Cross provided toothbrushes and other personal hygiene products to Donna and Marvin as well as sandwiches and water to the volunteer firefighters.
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"These are the kind of things you read about in the paper, they happen to someone else," Donna said.
Until the Wanzeks decide what to do about living arrangements, they are staying in a Jamestown motel. Their children offered rooms in their own homes, but for the short term, Donna and Marvin plan to rent a space of their own in Jamestown where they can deliberate about what to do next.
The couple grieves their loss, especially the homemade Christmas ornaments, antique furniture, marriage certificates and other mementos they'll never replace. But they aren't destitute, they said. Others may need others' generosity more. The Wanzeks said they have adequate insurance and the support of family and friends. In fact, if readers are looking to help, the Wanzeks asked them to send donations to the Cleveland Rural Fire Department instead.
To give to the Cleveland Rural Fire Department, mail it to 416 Fourth Ave. N., Cleveland, ND 58424 or call 701-763-6230.
Sun reporter Katie Ryan can be reached at 701-952-8454 or by e-mail at kryan@jamestownsun.com
