A blackened foundation forming a stony frame around still-smoldering ash is all that remains of a house on North Fourth Street this week.
The house was destroyed in a blaze shortly after 8 Tuesday night. The cause of the fire, according to fire chief David Bullard is “suspicious in nature because there were no utilities on and neighbors said people had been coming and going from it for a number of months.:
Henryetta firemen extinguished the blaze shortly after they arrived on the scene then, around 2 a.m. Wednesday. It re-ignited and burned the remaining structure.
“We made sure no homes around the scene were in danger,” Bullard said. "By letting the fire consume as much of the building as possible, it makes it easier for the lot to be eventually cleaned up;" he added.
Neighbors said they saw a number of people running from the house when the fire first broke out. "We know people have been staying in there for months," Bullard said.
That house sustained some damage about 12 years ago when the apartments just to the north of it burned to the ground. That fire was also said to be suspicious but no one was ever charged with setting it.