SUSPICIOUS FIRE GUTS HOUSE IN CAPE

A suspicious fire that gutted a boarded-up house on south Pacific Street late Wednesday is being investigated by Cape Girardeau police and fire departments, officials said.

"We know very little right now about the fire, except that it appears to have started in the front room," said Dan White, fire chief.

Heavy smoke was reported coming from the house at 1008 S. Pacific St. at 10:03 p.m., police Cpl. Kevin Orr said. When an officer arrived at the 1000 block of south Pacific Street, he observed fire and flames coming through the open front door of the house, Orr said.

By the time firefighters arrived on the scene about 50 percent of the residence was in flames, White said.

It took firefighters roughly 40 minutes to get the blaze under control, he said.

Firefighters gained access to the house through an alley, which made the job more difficult, White said.

"We had to run our trucks down the alley, and then take hoses back out of the alley to a fire hydrant before bringing them back to the house," he said.

The damage to the inside of the house was extensive.

The owner of the house, Kenneth Campbell of 449 Jefferson St., told investigators that the door had been locked and the windows boarded shut, since no one was living there.

The house was used for storage, Campbell told police.

Fire investigators have found nothing unusual about the contents of the house, White said.

"Some old furniture, hot water heaters and other appliances," he said. "There was a lot of stuff in there."

A garage belonging to the house and another nearby house were in danger of catching fire, but the timing of the firefighters' arrival prevented it.

"If we would have been a little later, it could have gotten that house, too," White said.

Some of the contents from the fire-damaged house have been sent to the Southeast Missouri Crime Lab to see if they can help determine the cause of the fire or give investigators additional information.