3-Alarm Fire Causes $1 Million in Damage at Inverness Home

A 3-alarm fire at an Inverness home Tuesday caused more than $1 million in damages and sent two Palatine Rural firefighters to the hospital due to heat exhaustion.

Palatine Rural Fire Department Captain Jeff Dill said the fire at 14 Carnoustie Lane began at approximately 4:45 p.m.

A Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated after 5 p.m., which requests assistance from neighboring fire departments. Dill said due to the heat and remote location of the home, the fire was quickly upgraded from a Code 3 to a Code 4 alarm. 

It took nearly three hours and upwards of 100 firefighters from dozens of neighboring departments to extinguish the blaze, Dill said. The fire was officially under control at 8:30 p.m., though firefighters remained at the scene until just before 11 p.m. to ensure it did not rekindle. 

The homeowner, Per Caesius, and his 16-year-old son were home at the time the fire was first noticed.

“Mr. Caesius’ son saw fire and flames in an interior room, and reported that to his father who tried to put it out by using a towel,” Dill said. “Then is when he realized the roof was on fire and the two quickly evacuated.”

Dill said once the fire was under control, he and another firefighter were able to go into the den and bedroom of the home and retrieve some valuables for Caesius. The entire roof by then had caved in. 

Because Inverness does not have fire hydrants, Dill said it did take additional time to get water out to the home to begin extinguishing the fire. "Tenders" which are fire apparatus that carry water in them, were immediately called through MABAS to assist from area fire departments. 

Among the departments who responded to assist were: Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Lake Zurich, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, and several others.