FULTON - A family of seven is doing OK after a fire destroyed its home in rural Hanson County over the weekend.
Chad and Sherry Haag and their five children occupied the home at 24533 423rd Ave., northeast of Fulton and Alexandria, which burned Saturday afternoon when the family was not home.
The family lived in the home for 12 years. Nobody was injured in the fire.
Chad Haag said his family is handling the loss about as well as it could.
“It’s just one of those things,” he said Monday. “You can’t really change it and you pick up the pieces the best you can. We’re doing OK.”
The fire started around 2 p.m. Saturday when the single-story home caught fire. Sherry and the family’s oldest child were headed to a Minnesota Vikings game and were just about to the Twin Cities when they received the news. The rest of the family was at a neighbor’s house at the time of the fire. The cause is still being investigated.
“We don’t really know what happened,” Haag said. “We weren’t around and when we got back, it was gone.”
Three vehicles parked near the home were also destroyed in the fire. Haag said the family’s five children -- which range in age from 3 to 16 -- are handling things well.
“They’re doing all right,” he said. “About as well as you really could in this situation, actually.”
Haag said the family shouldn’t have problems finding clothes and other goods to help themselves out. He’s the youngest of 13 children in his family, and he said all of his brothers and sisters have children about the same age as their children, meaning there’s plenty of clothes to go around.
“We’ve got lots of stuff,” he said. “I’m from a big family, so my family has plenty of things that they’ve been able to help us with and everyone has had things to offer us.”
As of now, Haag said the family plans to rebuild at the site.
For now, they’re currently staying with family in the area. Friends have offered resources for the family while they’re getting back to normal.
“It’s always appreciated, to know that people care and are willing to help you out when you could use it,” he said. “We’re pretty thankful for that.”
A bank account in the family’s name is located at Security State Bank in Alexandria. Donations can be mailed to the “Chad Haag Family Benefit Account,” P.O. Box 430, Alexandria, S.D., 57311.
