The July 27 fire started about 9 p.m. when Stephanie was at home alone with the children. She noticed it when she was walking down a hallway to check on the children and saw a red glow coming from the master bedroom. She got the children out of the house. Michael Unger, at a friend's home, came home when he heard. Four months later, on Thanksgiving, they're thankful.
Material things can be, and have been, replaced.
The couple are still in tough financial straits, in part because Michael had to take time off during the recent illness and death of his father. An elderly couple walked into Mandan's Capital Credit Union soon after the fire and got out a checkbook. The wife wrote the check and Hellman asked if they'd want a receipt for tax purposes. But they said no and left. I was kind of taken aback because it's a large amount for one couple.