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A 35-year-old Greensboro firefighter who was running for charity collapsed 500 yards from the finish line of the Chicago Marathon on Sunday and later died.

Capt. William Caviness leaves behind his wife Jenny, 4-year-old son Jack and 10-month-old daughter Caroline.

“He was a wonderful father, husband and certainly a wonderful son-in-law, and everything he did he did well,” said Lee Britt, Caviness’ mother-in-law.

Race medical director Dr. George Chiampas said medical personnel were able to get Caviness’ heart beating again but he died 1 hour, 45 minutes after he was attended to at the race.

The Chicago Tribune reported today that an autopsy was inconclusive.

Caviness, a skilled distance runner, raised more than $2,400 for the International Association of Fire Fighters Burn Foundation before the race. Currently, donations are at $4,500.

“Running for the Burn Foundation ... is an extension of his commitment to the job and the community,” said Dave Coker, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Greensboro Local 947. “We’re just heartbroken.”

Known as "Will," Caviness graduated from Grimsley High School in 1994 and was hired by the fire department in March 2003. He spent most of his career at Fire Station 5 on Westover Terrace.

In December, Caviness was promoted to captain and assigned to Fire Station 14. There, he led Engine 14 and its crew of three firefighters.

"We've lost a great person," Fire Chief Greg Grayson said today. "He's really going to be missed by our department."

His brother, Sean Caviness, also is a Greensboro fire captain. He is assigned to Fire Station 19 on Downwind Road, near Piedmont Triad International Airport. Will's wife Jenny works for the city as manager for youth services in Parks and Recreation.

Will Caviness was a member of the fire department's honor guard, the water rescue task force and urban search and rescue team. He also was the lead instructor for city's parks and recreation department's Youth Citizens Fire Academy.

Caviness is the second Greensboro fire captain to die in the past three months. Capt. Jackie Spoon of Fire Station 11 was killed July 14 at his Randolph County home when a lawn mower fell on him. Spoon's death also happened during off-duty hours.

"That's a lot of loss for our department in a short period of time," Grayson said.

Grayson said Caviness had trained for the Chicago Marathon for the past two years. Because he could not run long distances during work hours, he sometimes ran to the station from his home off of Holden Road.

The fire chief said Caviness hoped to run fast enough in Sunday's race to qualify for the Boston Marathon in April.

His uncle, Bill Caviness, of Tennessee, told the Chicago Tribune that Caviness had run several marathons before the event in Chicago.

Grayson said Caviness' most recent physical exam, something that all city firefighters must take each year, turned up no health issues.

Funeral services are pending.

His death was the second in five years at the Chicago marathon.

Chad Schieber, a 35-year-old Michigan police officer and father of three, died during the 2007 marathon that was run in near-90 degree heat. An autopsy blamed Schieber’s death on a heart condition called mitral valve prolapse.

This year, the race-time temperature was 64 and reached the high 70s on Sunday afternoon, the fourth time in five years the weather was unusually warm.

Even so, Chiampas said only 54 people were taken by ambulance to the hospital this year, compared to 100 in 2010 and 85 in 2008 under similar conditions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.