A devastating fire in Fond du Lac county over the weekend has left one couple starting the new year without a home.
It happened Sunday morning in the Town of Ashford, near Campbellsport.
Heather Meyer says she lived in the home with her boyfriend and that he actually built the home himself about 17 years ago.
Now, hardly anything remains.
"I mean it's indescribable to watch everything that you have, you own, you cherish go up," said Meyer. "And then to watch your significant other lose all his son's pictures, all of our family's stuff, his mother's wedding ring is in there and she passed quite a few years ago. There's just a bunch of irreplaceable stuff."
Meyer says their wood burning stove likely sparked the blaze. It spread so fast, they only had time to get themselves and their three pets out safely.
Meyer says her boyfriend spent the night in the hospital for smoke inhalation, but otherwise everyone is OK.
"Watching the house from down there you know I felt helpless but now we've just had so much overwhelming support we know things are gonna get moving," she said.
Within 48 hours of the fire, she says the community has donated two trucks worth of clothes and other necessities for her and her boyfriend. Her family has taken them and their pets in, and people have already reached out offering to help them rebuild.
While this isn't the New Year's Day they had planned, Meyer says they are trying to stay positive.
"Being in the hospital at midnight was not exactly the way we wanted to go but it is a new year, it means new beginnings you know," she said.
Donations for the couple can be dropped off at two local bars in the area, Curve In located at N192 US Highway 45 in Kewaskum and at Tradition's Pub located at 501 County Rd H in Fillmore.
They also have a Gofundme site set up to collect monetary donations. Meyer says she is still working with their insurance company but expect that damage will be covered.
