Fire guts Campton Hills home

A family of five escaped injury but was left homeless Sunday after a three-alarm house fire in Campton Hills.

The fire caused $450,000 in damage to the family's house at 3N647 Ridgeview Court and $100,000 in damage to its contents, officials estimated.

St. Charles firefighters responded to the blaze at 3:42 p.m. in the Arbor Creek subdivision after one of the homeowners discovered flames, said Assistant Fire Chief Joe Schelstreet.

The man and his wife were able to rush their three children, ages 1, 5 and 7, to safety. But Schelstreet said gusts of wind and a lack of water hydrants in the rural area west of St. Charles kept firefighters battling the flames for hours.

"The wind was gusty; it pushed the fire across the house," Schelstreet said. "Without having any water out here and with the wind having a head start on us, we had our hands full."

Firefighters assisted from several departments, including Batavia, Geneva, Elburn, Pingree Grove, Burlington, Sugar Grove and South Elgin.

Schelstreet said the fire's origin was unclear, but investigators were not considering the incident suspicious.

Officials did not immediately identify the homeowners, and family members at the scene declined to talk to a reporter.

As evening drew in, firefighters shoveled soot and ashes from two-story windows on the brick-venire house. An attached three-car garage was reduced to rubble, and chunks of wood and debris were strewn about the yard.

Kim Pedersen, a volunteer with the American Red Cross Fox River Chapter, said the organization was working to find shelter for the displaced family, but neighbors already were pitching in with donations of clothes, diapers and gift cards.

"It's a very generous neighborhood," she said.

Pederson said the homeowners were in shock over the devastating fire, but had expressed gratitude to firefighters who rescued wedding rings and family photos from the house.

Schelstreet also praised firefighters for their teamwork.

"It was an extremely difficult situation here, and they gave it their all," he said.