Cause of Campton Hills fire under investigation
The cause of a house fire in Campton Hills remained under investigation Thursday, but firefighters said they've ruled out foul play.
Assistant St. Charles Fire Chief Joe Schelstreet said the blaze Wednesday evening originated on a deck behind the two-story house on Canterbury Court in the Hastings subdivision.
From there, he said, it moved up a wall along the back of the house and eventually entered the attic, causing some $600,000 in structural damage and $200,000 in damage to contents.
"Once it had the attic space, it was difficult to control," Schelstreet said. "The damage was so complete in the area of origin, (the investigation) is going to take awhile. But we do not consider it suspicious."
Fire crews from seven departments responded at 4:42 p.m. Wednesday after a homeowner, Vicki Foley, smelled smoke and looked out the window to see flames shooting from her deck.
No one was injured in the blaze, but a family cat perished, and the home was left uninhabitable. The Foley family could not be reached for comment.
Schelstreet said firefighters spent more than six hours fighting the fire and investigating at the scene. A lack of fire hydrants in the area, he said, slowed their progress as water was hauled in.
"That's a challenge for us," he said.
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