Just weeks before its owners were planning to move in, a home being remodeled at 59 Cat Rock Road was destroyed by a blaze Tuesday night that caused three firefighters to be treated for heat exhaustion.

Fire Chief Peter Siecienski said the home was not occupied when the fire was reported at 10:41 p.m. at the two-story Colonial, which is tucked away in the woods and surrounded by several large boulders on a hilltop.

The owner of the house, who town officials identified as Wayne Jervis, had been living with his family in a small guest cottage on the 4.3-acre property while their new home - scheduled for completion around Labor Day - was being built.

"They were three weeks away from moving in. It's too bad," Siecienski said Wednesday.

It took 50 firefighters about an hour to get the blaze under control, according to Siecienski, who said the fire caused the partial collapse of several sections of the 13-room home

"It was totally engulfed when they arrived," Siecienski said.

Two firefighters were treated and released from Greenwich Hospital for heat exhaustion said the chief, who pointed out that the weather was hot and muggy at the time of the fire. A third firefighter was treated at the scene for similar symptoms of heat exhaustion that Siecienski said included nausea, vomiting and cramps.

Efforts to reach Jervis, who fire officials said arrived home just as they were responding to the scene, were unsuccessful. The rest of the family was away on

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vacation.

Siecienski said the 7,170-square-foot house was not furnished, though some boxes with the family's personal items were being stored on the lower level of the dwelling.

A cause of the blaze has not been determined, said Siecienski, who referred questions about the origin to fire inspectors.

A message seeking comment was left Wednesday with fire inspectors.

According to the assessor's office, the original home, built in 1922, was being remodeled and expanded. The project was about 85 percent complete as of October 2007, when the full market value of the property was listed at nearly $4.4 million.

The 1,508-square-foot guest cottage, which town records showed was renovated in 2004, was not damaged by the fire and is inhabitable, Siecienski said.