A house fire in Platteville Saturday night destroyed the house, but all seven people who were inside the house escaped uninjured.

The home of Mike and Susie Myers at 1175 Sunset Dr. was reported around 10:45 p.m. By the time firefighters arrived, said Platteville first assistant fire chief Dave Langkamp, The back side was already burning.

By Monday night, the Myerses were staying at the Super 8 Motel in Platteville trying to figure out their long-term plans for their property.

Its tough starting over, said Mike Myers. I had my jeans and a pair of slip-on shoes when they left the house.

But, he added, We all made it out.

One of the Myers daughters, her husband and their two daughters, ages 2 and 6 months, were sleeping downstairs. 

It started inside the walls and went outside before the smoke ever came into the house, said Mike Myers, who added that a working smoke detector eight feet away from the fire didnt go off.

None of us had time to grab anything, he said. My daughter saw the glow outside, asked what it was, went outside, saw the flames.

Myers said Langkamp gave him his coat when he put on his turnout gear, and a neighbor got a coat for Susie and him.

Myers said the fire may be tied to heat from a pellet stove exhaust, though the pipe was not blocked, he said.

Firefighters couldnt get inside the house for some time because the fire reached the attic, and the first floor fell into the basement, Langkamp said.

Flames shot through the ceiling and reached the top of the lots trees, Myers said. By daybreak, a huge chunk of the roof was burned away, oddly similar in shape to one house destroyed by the 2014 EF2 tornado.

Firefighters were on scene until 3:15 a.m., then returned Sunday morning to investigate. Cuba City firefighters were called for mutual aid. Southwest Health EMS and Platteville and UWPlatteville police assisted at the scene.

The Myers house was built in 1969 one block from where Myers grew up on West Main Street. They moved there in 2005.

By Monday, the Myerses had gotten things at Walmart. One college student went to their house and gave them $10, and another student brought over toiletries.

The clothes I wore tonight, Tom Osterholz brought them over, he said Monday night.

Items lost in the fire included Myers hearing aids, glasses, medication and CPAP machine, along with their son-in-laws and grandsons laptops and a camera that was a wedding present for Myers daughter.

Its like starting all over square one, he said. We have no idea what were going to do.