Police consider a Thursday morning fire that caused $150,000 in damage to a duplex at 220 S. Franklin St. to be suspicious.
Lt. Charles Aagaard, head of Janesville police detectives, said the fire is considered suspicious based on witness statements. He declined to reveal what witnesses have told investigators. Firefighters were dispatched at 5:47 a.m. The front of the house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, but nobody was hurt, Janesville police Detective Chris Buescher said. Three people escaped from one apartment and two people from the other, he said. The Red Cross is assisting three people from the duplex, and the others are staying with family, according to a fire department news release.