When Platte Fire Chief Rick Gustad arrived on the scene of a fire that killed six people Thursday in Platte, the one-and-a-half-story house was almost completely destroyed. "It's not a real common occurrence to have a fully engulfed structure fire on arrival," Gustad said. "The house was pretty well destroyed when we arrived on the scene." Scott and Nicole Westerhuis, along with their four children, third-grader Kailey, fifth-grader Jaeci, eighth-grader Connor, and sophomore Michael died in the fire, according to High School Principal Patrick Frederick. He said the district received word the Westerhuis family had died in the fire, which occurred three miles south of Platte in far south-central South Dakota near the Missouri River. Gustad said a passerby reported the fire at about 5:30 a.m., and firefighters reached the scene around 5:50 a.m. He said he believes the fire had been burning for some time before it was reported.
The home is destroyed, but additions on the residence such as an indoor gym, garage and football field survived.
The Platte and Geddes fire departments with from 30 to 40 firefighters worked the scene.