Hartford couple loses everything in overnight house fire

HARTFORD, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Hartford couple lost everything they own in an early morning house fire.

Hartford Fire officials say they received the call just after 1:30 Thursday morning about the fire on East Summer Street that they say started in the basement.

Officials say when firefighters arrived on scene around 1:30 a.m. they found heavy fire in the basement that extended up through the walls of the home. Firefighters were able to get the fire under control in about an hour and left the scene around 6:00 a.m. 

Two people were inside the home at the time of the fire and were able to escape.

They did, however, have to come back to check on hotspots. Chief Paul Stephans says what made this fire challenging was the fact that the first floor collapsed into the basement before their arrival on the scene. 

"There was no place to walk on so we had to find alternative means to get inside and get above the fire due to the construction and the amount of fire load," said Chief Stephans. 

The home suffered severe damage and is considered a total loss. No one was injured.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time and fire officials are still investigating. The couple is being helped by the Red Cross.