Cardinals Fans: Carole Buck's house burns down.

LADUE -- A fire early today heavily damaged the million-dollar home of Carole Buck, widow of legendary Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck.

Carole Buck was at home asleep when the fire broke out but she escaped safely, said Lt. Darin McClure of the Ladue Police Department. The two-alarm fire was reported at 1:36 a.m. by the home's alarm system, he said.

Carole Buck is staying with relatives now. She was out of the house by the time firefighters arrived and required no medical treatment, said Ladue Fire Chief Ted Jury.

Some of family's collection of sports memorabilia went up in flames.

The home is at 11 Glen Creek Lane in Ladue, near Clayton and Conway roads. No word on the cause of the fire.

Fire officials say the fire broke through the roof and spread quickly. It was declared "under control" in 2 1/2 hours, Jury said.

More than a half dozen departments were called to help fight the blaze. Fire officials reported having trouble accessing enough hydrants and getting firetrucks to the scene because the street is small and narrow. The street has about 15 homes and it dead-ends in a T, with two cul-de-sacs.

"It's a small, private street, and you can't get all the fire trucks you would like down the street," Jury said.

Only one ladder truck was raised to fight the fire, Jury said. Also, fire crews had to run a lot of lines across Clayton Road to get additional hydrants, he said.

Jack Buck, who died in 2002, never lived in the home. Carole Buck moved in about a year after her husband died.

According to records from the St. Louis County assessor's office, the home is owned by the Buck Family Residence Trust. It was purchased on Feb. 20, 2003, for $945,000, records show. Built in 1996, it is a Cape-style home with three bedrooms.

This morning, the Bucks' daughter Julie Buck and son Joe Buck, the Fox broadcaster, showed up at the scene. By 9 a.m., the insurance company and restoration crews were examining the home. Jury said he couldn't comment on the cause of the fire until he had talked with his fire investigator.

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