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Fire Guts Home In Inverness

INVERNESS, Ill. (CBS) -- A fire caused well over a $1 million in damage to a home in Inverness Tuesday night, and two of the more than 100 responding firefighters had to be treated for heat exhaustion.

WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports the fire started about 5 p.m. in the attic over the roof of a home on Carnoustie Lane on the Heritage Farms subdivision in Inverness.

A man and his 16-year-old son were home at the time, and the father said he heard his son screaming "fire!"

There were no hydrants in the area, so firefighters had to truck in water from about a quarter mile away to fight the flames.

"With the intensity of the fire in the attic space blowing, our crews tried to hit it as fast as they could, but it just got away," Palatine Rural Fire Protection District Captain Jeff Dill.

Homeowner Per Caesius told the Daily Herald he didn't care about the house itself, but the irreplaceable possessions lost in the fire; such as photographs, and his children's memorabilia.

It was so hot while firefighters battled the blaze that two firefighters who responded were treated for heat exhaustion.

Crews were still spraying water on the remains more than three hours after it started, and the home was a total loss.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

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