Photo by Jenny Kirk Several emergency personnel responded to a report of a vehicle on fire at a home 1 mile west of Tracy on Sunday evening. The fire then spread to the garage and the house.

TRACY — Kora Lindberg — less than a month away from having a baby — is counting her blessings despite losing her home and likely everything inside due to a fire on Sunday evening.

Luckily, Lindberg, her boyfriend, Marshall Hippen, and their two children, 5-year-old Axel and 3-year-old Elsie, were able to escape the scene without injury.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but we feel fortunate,” she said. “We were at home and I told Marshall I hadn’t felt the baby for awhile. We were going to go to Marshall to the hospital, so I said to go feed the dogs. That’s when he noticed the truck was on fire.”

Lindberg said the vehicle was parked right next to the garage, and that the garage was connected to the house they rented. The acreage is located about a mile west of Tracy.

According to a Lyon County Sheriff’s report, the vehicle fire spread to the garage and then to the house.

“The garage went up in flames,” Lindberg said. “I called 911 right away. Marshall grabbed the dogs and I got the kids dressed and brought them outside. The fire department was there within 10 minutes, but it seemed like forever.”

The Tracy Fire Department got the fire call shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Calls to the Tracy fire chief and assistant fire chief were not returned.

The Balaton and Garvin fire departments also responded and arrived on the scene after a request for mutual aid was sent out.

“My dad came and picked the kids up right away, so they didn’t see a lot of it,” Lindberg said. “I’m thankful for that.”

Personnel from the Lyon County Sheriff’s office and the Minnesota State Patrol also assisted, primarily handling traffic control along U.S. Highway 14, where the acreage is located.

And while firefighters were battling the blaze, volunteers from the American Red Cross were dispatched to help the now-homeless family.

“We try to get comfort kits to families within two hours of the fire,” Red Cross disaster coordinator Rod Byam said. “It was awesome that we could find responders to go there — we had one volunteer from Marshall and one from south of Marshall.”

Byam said the Red Cross categorizes homes subjected to fire as habitable or not-habitable.

“The house was destroyed,” he said. “The garage was, too. We classify the homes as livable or not livable. This one is no longer livable. But fortunately, there were no injuries.”

Byam said the comfort kits typically include toothbrushes, wash cloths, soap and other similar items.

“We usually give families enough money to go to a motel,” Byam said. “It isn’t a lot of money, but it helps to take care of immediate housing, food and clothing.”

Lindberg said she, Hippen and the children were grateful to be able to seek refuge at her sister’s and brother-in-law’s (Briar and Brandon Engelkes) home in Tracy.

“They’ve been good to us,” she said. “I also found a lady in town who will board my dogs.”

Lindberg said she and Hippen are hoping some of their belongings are salvageable, but knows that only time will tell. Until then, she’s keeping busy trying to connect with local organizations.

“The Red Cross people were really nice,” Lindberg said. “They gave me a bunch of information. I haven’t had any luck with the numbers they gave me, though I’ve been on the phone all day (Monday). I’ll try calling again (Tuesday).”

Byam has been the Logistics Group Leader for the southwest Minnesota area for nearly 10 years.

“I go to different counties, try to set up shelters and also find volunteers to man those shelters,” he said. “I also keep inventory on goods and train volunteers to deploy to area and national disasters.”

Byam said he’s proud of the work Red Cross volunteers do. But there’s always a need for more, he added.

“We can always use more disaster action teams,” Byam said. “So far this year — which is 8 days — we’ve had 22 fires in the state. And that’s not an above-average number. We also need more people to donate blood. Right now, blood is in very, very short supply. It’s because of the hurricanes and the snowstorm out east. All those places that normally give blood are shut down.”

Byam pointed out that nationwide, the Red Cross has a 90 percent volunteer rate. All but 10 percent of the disaster donations also go to the families.

“For disasters, 90 cents of every dollar goes to the clients,” he said. “We also have good partners, including the Salvation Army. We take care of immediate housing, food and clothing. But they can do so much more. I can’t say enough good about them.”

Having been around disasters for a long time, Byam would encourage people to volunteer in any way possible, whether it’s by giving blood, learning CPR, donating money or something else. He also suggests renters carry rental insurance in case of fire or other kinds of disasters.

“It’s devastating to see people lose everything,” he said. “And there are so many people who don’t have renter’s insurance. It’s only like $4-$6 a month. It’s cheap.”

The Tracy family is currently looking for temporary housing. And with a C-section scheduled for Feb. 7, there isn’t a lot of time to waste. Any help at all would be appreciated.

A YouCaring fund has been set up to assist the family. To donate, go to: https://www.youcaring.com/marshallhippenandkoralindberg-1062923.