The cause of a fire Thursday afternoon that destroyed a two-story house and garage is suspicious, Fire Chief Clarence Reese said.
It took 40 firefighters about 30 minutes to get the fire under control at the house in the 300 block of Boulevard Street. The house was vacant, and no utilities were connected, Reese said.
“So, suspicious in nature for us. And, of course, it's the middle of the day. Nobody was seen running from the home or anything else for it to just up and go in flames. To go up in flames just out of the blue is immediately going to be suspicious in nature for us,” Reese said.
Firefighters received the call just before 1 p.m. The flames started in a detached garage and spread to the house.
The first unit was on the scene within 3 minutes of the call.