A fire that gutted an upstairs portion of a vacant duplex was probably caused by a person but it’s not clear if it was intentional, Fire Chief Jeff Miller said Wednesday.
Firefighters were called to the two-story duplex at 520 S. Dakota St. at 4:55 a.m. Tuesday and saw flames coming from the second floor. It took about half an hour to put out. Nobody was injured.
“We know it wasn’t an accident from any kind of utility because there were no utilities (on),” Miller said. “It was human-caused but until we find out more information, we don’t have anything to suggest it was intentional.”
A resident who lives nearby said Tuesday that the duplex has been vacant for years and Miller says that appears to be the case.
The owner told authorities it had a history of people getting inside “and it sounded like this place has been abandoned for a number of years,” Miller said.