Fort Dodge Fire Department crews were dispatched to 502 N. 17th St. around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday and found the two-story brick home engulfed, with flames coming out the windows on the first and second floors.

According to Fort Dodge Fire Chief Steve Hergenreter, the house has been vacant, though neighbors reported seeing squatters in the house throughout the summer and shortly before Wednesday’s fire. Fire crews immediately began search and rescue operations, but no occupants were found.

After an aggressive fire attack, crews were able to get the fire knocked down. The house, owned by Colleen Holcombe, sustained heavy fire, heat and smoke damage.

FDFD determined the cause of the fire was arson. When a fire is labeled an arson, the FDFD hands it over to the Fort Dodge Police Department to investigate, Hergenreter said.

-Submitted photo
Fort Dodge firefighters extinguished a fire at 502 N. 17th St. on Wednesday. The fire was the fifth suspicious blaze in the last two months.

Wednesday’s fire was the fifth suspicious blaze in the last two months.

On June 5, a vacant apartment building at 312 S. 16th St. sustained damage when a fire was intentionally set on the first floor. No injuries were reported.

On June 27, a detached garage at 112 11th St. N.W. was destroyed in an early morning fire. The FDFD determined this fire had also been intentionally set.

On July 4, two houses, a garage and a grove of trees in the 700 block of Third Avenue Northwest burned in the early morning hours. One firefighter came into contact with an overhead power line that had burned and fallen behind one of the houses, sustaining an electrical shock. The firefighter was evaluated on the scene and remained on duty.

On July 12, a house at 318 S. 18th St. was gutted by an intentionally set fire. Occupants of the house were not home at the time of the evening fire.

According to FDPD Capt. Dennis Quinn, patrol officers and investigators with the Criminal Investigations Division are continuing to follow up with these suspicious fires.

“While the source of each ignition in these other fires is not currently known, we do not believe any of these fires are connected,” Quinn said.

The FDPD is requesting the public’s assistance and asks anyone with information or video evidence of the area around the times of the fires to call the police department at 515-573-1424.