COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) -- A fire has destroyed the home of an Iowa Army National Guard soldier serving in Afghanistan.
The family of Staff Sgt. Scott Stogdill, 32, said Thursday that he is on his way home after a fire the night before destroyed most of the house occupied by his wife, Molly Stogdill, and their four children. No one was injured in the blaze.
``Everything that you worked hard for, it's just gone, and you can't do a thing about it,'' said Molly Stogdill, who was able to salvage her wedding rings and some family photos - but not much else.
The fire started when she was heating oil on the stove to make french fries and was distracted by a phone call, according to the Council Bluffs Fire Department.
She escaped the home with her toddler. The couple's other three children were at camp, she said.
The family is staying with relatives in Omaha, Neb., as they wait for Scott Stogdill to return. Molly Stogdill said support is pouring in from the community and beyond - especially from the wives of other soldiers who are overseas.
She said her husband's platoon has offered to pool money to buy Scott Stogdill a plane ticket. The military will fly him back into the country, she said, but not necessarily all the way home.
Stogdill was part of a deployment of 700 National Guard troops sent to Afghanistan in May to assist with reconstruction efforts. He was to have spent a year in the country.
Information from: The Des Moines Register
