The fire at 424 First Ave. N.W. was reported at 6:30 p.m.

The house is located at the top of a steep hill at the dead end of First Avenue Northwest. It sits at the top of the hill by itself, surrounded by trees that make it all but invisible to surrounding homes.

When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting out of the entire front of the house, and one side of it. Grass in front of the house caught fire, and siding on one wall of an adjacent garage melted.

Three hoselines were used to put out the fire.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Firefighters move in with the first hoseline to begin extinguishing the Friday evening fire at 424 First Ave. N.W.

Fire Dept. Lt. Tom Ubben said the blaze is considered suspicious.

Ubben said neighbors told him the man who lived in the house died about a year ago. The place has apparently been vacant since then.

He added that neighbors reported often seeing people going to and from the property.

Online records of the Webster County Assessor’s Office list the current owner of the house as Frederick J. Rank, of Fort Dodge. Those records indicate that it was built in 1890.

Fort Dodge police assisted firefighters at the scene. Firefighters were there for about three hours.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
With the fire mostly extinguished, firefighters work to tear away siding to get at smoldering hot spots. The house at 424 First Ave. N.W. had two layers of siding on it.