Parsons firefighters and the Kansas Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating a Wednesday morning fire. Firefighters blocked a portion of Main Street while crews extinguished and investigated the blaze.
The fire has been ruled incendiary, meaning that someone or something set it.
Firefighters were called at 6:08 a.m. Wednesday to 2314 Main. Fire trucks arrived three minutes later, and firefighters saw the ball of fire at the house as they passed under the railroad tracks on Main, according to Parsons Fire Chief Brad Boss.
The house is owned by Nadia Marks, according to the county appraiser’s property search page. Boss said the home was not occupied and utilities had been shut off. Investigators are trying to determine who had been coming and going from the house, as no one reportedly had the authority to be there.
The cause of the fire and where it started are under investigation. Damage was heaviest on the first floor, with some damage extending into the second floor and attic because of the balloon framing employed in older homes. Balloon framing means the wall studs run continuously from the foundation to the roof, a method that was common until the late 1940s. The appraiser’s website shows the house was built in 1906.
Boss estimated damage to the house at $10,000.
A person reported on social media seeing something burning in the front yard near the house that morning and the front door open. Others reported seeing someone there with a dog.
