a day ago
Hundreds donate to Fosston father and daughters who were hospitalized after fatal house fire
Jun. 28—POLK COUNTY, Minn. — It will be a long road to recovery for a Fosston man and his two daughters who were severely injured in a house fire, all while mourning the loss of the man's 60-year-old father, who died in the blaze.
Meanwhile, the community is offering support in the wake of the family's tragedy.
Law enforcement responded to 718 First St. E. in Fosston after receiving a fire report at approximately 4:30 a.m., Wednesday, June 25, according to a Fosston Police Department press release. After extinguishing the fire, which had fully engulfed the house. Kevin Haugen died as a result of the fire.
Kevin Haugen's son, 31-year-old Zachary Haugen, was injured in the fire. Also injured were two of Zachary Haugen's children, 8-year-old Ronnie Haugen and 4-year-old Evelyn Haugen. His youngest child, 2-year-old Pheonix Haugen, was at the home but uninjured, and is being cared for by another family member, according to Sherri Berg, Zachary Haugen's mother.
They were taken to the emergency room in Fosston; the father, 8-year-old and 4-year-old were then life-flighted to Minneapolis.
In addition to suffering injuries, the loss of their belongings and family home, "they're struggling, too, because (Zachary) lost his father," Berg said.
"(Kevin) was in the house at the time, and he wasn't able to save him."
As of approximately 3 p.m. Thursday, Berg said her son had been taken off his ventilator. He wasn't scheduled to have it taken off until Friday, but he was persistent and talked medical staff into checking whether it would be possible — and it was.
"That is a huge success," she said. "He's ahead of schedule on that."
Ronnie Haugen suffered minor burns and lung damage caused by smoke inhalation. Evelyn Haugen suffered the worst injuries; she has severe lung damage and very bad burns on the top half of her body, so she is anticipated to be in the hospital for quite some time, Berg said. The two girls remain sedated and on ventilators.
"They help them breathe," Berg said. "Then what they do is they put medications in the ventilator so then that is pushing it into their lungs to help them heal faster. It's like taking a nebulizer, only it's going straight to their lungs."
All three will be in the hospital for a while, and their treatment won't end when they are discharged, she said.
A GoFundMe arranged by a family member, Amara Allen, garnered $20,480 in donations within less than two days. There were a total of 211 donations as of late Thursday afternoon, some of which Berg recognized as coming from friends and family, others from complete strangers.
"It's wonderful," she said. "The GoFundMe was good. The amount is great, but his needs are great. Even when Zach is discharged, technically, he will stay here with Evelyn — the 4-year-old — until she is discharged. So he won't be at work, and that's going to be a hardship for him."
The father of three was working two jobs prior to the fire to support his family. He's a hard worker, Berg said.
"He does everything for the girls," she said. "He's just a good family man, and this is really difficult for him, but he'll be there for (his daughters,) and he appreciates everybody who's supporting him."
Anyone interested in making a donation can go to
or reach out to Ultima Bank Minnesota, located at 603 Hilligoss Blvd. SE in Fosston, in person or by phone at (218) 435-2265.
