Suspicious fire destroys vacant Fountain house

BY JENNIE KELLER

The vacant house at 600 South Santa Fe in Fountain was destroyed in a fire in the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 19. A call about the fire came into the Fountain 911 Dispatch Center at 1:39 a.m. and fire trucks arrived on the scene at 1:41 a.m.
According to Fire Chief Darin Anstine, the house was vacant and boarded up.
“We forced entry through the backdoor. The first floor was involved in heavy fire which moved to the attic,” he said.
The fire was completely out in about an hour; however personnel remained on the scene until 6:15 a.m. after making sure that all the hot spots were out.
“This fire has suspicious circumstances. It was definitely a set fire but we are still investigating why it was set. It was definitely not accidental. We are not sure it was set on purpose or for warmth, so for now we will be looking at arson,” stated Anstine. “There were no utilities to the building, either. Fires don’t just start; there is a source.”
As of press time, the owners have the vacant house had not been reached.