By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – A fire at a city-owned house Feb. 7 has been ruled an arson.
Fire Chief Jeff Carley said Thursday that the department knew by the next day that the fire that started in the the house, 144 Antione, was the result of foul play.
“We were able to rule out any electrical cause,” Carley said. “The electricity was disconnected; the gas was cut. The investigation found the fire started through ordinary combustibles.”
The vacant house was owned by the city and had been purchased to demolish, Carley said. It also recently had been vandalized and broken into.
The Fire Department responded about 8 p.m. Feb. 7 to the blaze, which was extinguished about three hours later, Carley said.
The investigation has been turned over to the police department, Carley said.
Carley said the fire was similar to another ruled arson on Ford and Northline in 2010. That house also was city owned and scheduled for demolition. That investigation is still open and Carley said he is unsure whether the two are connected.
“We’re not sure,” he said. “It was a number of years ago, but everything’s the same.”