Vacant house fire under investigation

Police and firefighters are investigating the cause of a suspicious fire Sunday at 344 S. Ellis.

Cape Girardeau firefighters were called to the scene at 7:19 p.m. after passers-by saw the blaze and reported it using a cell phone.

The house was vacant and no one was injured, battalion chief Steve Niswonger said.

About 35 percent of the structure -- the entire rear of the two-story house -- was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, he said.

Three of the city's four stations were called in to fight the blaze and Jackson and Scott City firefighters were put on standby.

There was no power to the house, either gas or electric, so the circumstances surrounding the fire's cause seemed fishy, Niswonger said.

"Most times, they don't catch fire without some help," he said.

The question of whether the blaze was deliberately set or accidentally caused by a trespasser is still up in the air.

Since the back door was completely burned off its hinges, investigators couldn't tell if there was forcible entry.

The stairwells to the basement and the upper level were completely burned out.

Firefighters remained until about midnight helping collect evidence.

Police Monday took photographs and gathered samples of the wood floor to figure out if some kind of accelerant like lighter fluid or gasoline was used.

Cape Girardeau police detective Joseph Tado is in charge of the investigation.