Fire crews called to same vacant central Fresno home multiple times this week

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Firefighters say vacant structure fires continue to be a major problem as another home went up in flames in central Fresno.

Crews were called out to the abandoned home near Belmont and Fresno just after 1 am Friday.

When they arrived, the flames had already burned through the roof of the house and were threatening neighboring homes.

Firefighters quickly got a hold of the flames and found no one inside the home.

Investigators say it's the second time they've been called to this same home in recent nights.

"Vacant structure fires are a large part of the calls that we have here in Fresno," says Fresno Fire Battalion Chief Brian Price. "Our fire call volume is up about 200 percent. That's due to vacant structure fires here in the city of Fresno."

Investigators are still looking into what caused this fire, but they say there's a chance it was started by a group of homeless people who let a warming fire get out of control.