Nekoma, ND, couple sees outpouring of support after house fire

Jan. 02--NEKOMA, N.D. -- Niomi "Pepper" Moen stood with her husband Monday morning and watched their Nekoma-area home burn to the ground. She wanted to dash back inside and grab her wedding ring--they married in July of 2015, just after they'd bought the house--but he wouldn't let her.

Pepper and Chris Moen are sorting through their next steps after the blaze ravaged their home, leaving them staying with relatives and friends and thankful to be alive. In the fire's aftermath, a GoFundMe account is seeking to replace lost clothing, vehicles and phones with a goal of $15,000. As of Monday afternoon, the page had raised more than $2,600.

Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/chris-pepper-moen. An official with the Cavalier County Sheriff's Office was able to confirm a recent fire in the Nekoma area but did not provide any additional details.

"People want to offer us furniture and dishes and stuff, but we don't need any of that until we have a home," she said. She said they need clothes and toiletries so she can get back to work as a manager at a bar and grill in Edmore, N.D. Her husband, she added, works as a self-employed auto mechanic.

Moen said she thinks she woke up sometime around 3 a.m., looked up, and realized the couch was on fire. She said she believes it might have been caused by an electric reclining mechanism.

"I'm like, 'Babe, fire, fire!' " she said. The two tried to get water to put out the blaze, but then dashed outside--not thinking to grab keys, phones or wallets--and when they opened the door, Moen said the fire gained strength. They couldn't go back inside for anything--not even the keys to start one of their cars and move them away from the home.

A friend happened to drive by a short time later, Pepper Moen said, and fire officials arrived soon after--but the house, she said, burned until it was "flat."

Tara Vincelette, the organizer of the GoFundMe page, described a dire picture of the family in a posting on the website.

"This morning I found out my best friends' house caught fire and is a complete loss. They did not have insurance. Right now they are staying with Chris' parents," she wrote. "They did not have insurance. ... Anything that is able to be donated to them would be greatly appreciated. I know with the holiday just passing, budgets are tight but please, keep them in mind."

It's tough for Pepper Moen to say what the couple's next step is.

"I was going to go to work tonight, but I have no clothes," she said. "We don't have a car or anything. We're going to go stay at a friend's house."

In the midst of their loss, though, Moen said from her in-laws' residences that she's heartened by the support the family has received so far.

"We've had a lot of people stop by here with a lot of clothes and money. It's been overwhelmingly amazing," she said.

Pepper Moen's father, Gary Sangrait, said he's relieved that everyone seems to be OK.

"I thank God," he said of the couple's safety. "I can't believe it happened. My girlfriend was reading (Pepper's social media post) to me when it happened--that's how I found out."

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