GRAND FORKS (AP) - A soldier who returned from Afghanistan came home not only to his family but also to a new home.

Shortly after Sgt. Wayne Houska was deployed with the North Dakota National Guard's 188th Air Defense Artillery unit, his family's house was destroyed in a Jan. 23, 2006, fire.

Fire officials determined a lamp left on in a room shorted out and ignited a comforter. No one was hurt, though a family cat died.

Houska took a one-week emergency leave to come home and help sort through soot-covered belongings and assess the damage, then returned to duty because he and his wife, Ellen, agreed it was important he fulfill his obligation.

Ellen Houska and the couple's children, Ben, 12, Steve, 12, and Samantha, 16, moved into temporary housing at Grand Forks Air Force Base.

The family has not yet moved into their newly built house in Grand Forks, but went there Thursday night after Wayne Houska returned home and stayed until the early hours of Friday. The children, tired from all the excitement, went to their rooms and fell asleep curled up on their floors.

"They already feel like it's home," Ellen Houska said.

Wayne Houska said he was "relieved to be back."

"The house looks great," he said.

The Houskas said they received help and support from various military and church agencies and residents in Grand Forks, Finley and Grafton.

"We stayed strong with the help of family and friends, and all the organizations," Ellen Houska said.