Perry Schuetz, 50, of Mandan, woke up at 3 a.m. Sunday because his dog was barking, and looked out to see his next-door neighbors in their yard and smoke "rising from their house" in the 600 block of Second Street Northeast in Mandan.

He said he could see down into their basement windows and saw flames. The fire would eventually reach the attic, Schuetz said.

According to a Mandan Fire Department press release, when the first firefighters arrived, the two-story structure at 602 Second St. N.E. had fire in the basement and first-floor areas.

"It was reported that one of the occupants sustained burns to the legs while attempting to extinguish the fire," according to the release.

"The cause of the fire was accidental in nature which originated in the basement of the structure," according to the release.

Schuetz said his neighbors, a young couple with a couple of children, were staying with relatives. He said the American Red Cross also was at the scene to help.

Schuetz said the couple had bought the old house last summer and had been fixing it up and had put a lot of money into it.

- Virginia Grantier