‘Suspicious’ fire guts vacant house in Merced
Flames burned through an empty house late Sunday in Merced.
Firefighters described the fire, which spread to a nearby storage shed and vacant lot in the 800 block of West 14th Street, as “obviously suspicious.”
“Neighbors in the area reported a lot of transient activity in the building over the last two month,” Battalion Chief Mark Walker said.
He said the cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday.
About 20 Merced firefighters responded the flames at 10:56 p.m. Firefighters extinguished the flames after about an hour and remained to mop up into the early morning.
Preliminary estimates placed damage at around $125,000, Walker said.
Walker said numerous small fires have reported in the area in recent weeks, including one other building. He said investigators are looking for possible connections between the fires but said it was too early to be certain.
Investigators are asking for help from the public to identify the cause of the recent fires.
Anyone with information can contact the Merced Fire Department at 209-385-6891.
This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "‘Suspicious’ fire guts vacant house in Merced."