Vacant home engulfed in flames in SE Fresno, neighbors blame homeless

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Homeless people may be to blame for a vacant house fire in southeast Fresno.

Firefighters arrived at the boarded-up home on First Street and Platt Avenue just after 7:30 on Friday to find it fully engulfed in flames.

Because so much of the home was already destroyed, crews took a defensive approach and were able to stop the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

"When the heat is that intense, it throws embers to the neighboring houses to the businesses to the north, but our crews did a great job keep the fire contained to the point of origin and keeping those additional structures from catching fire," said Michael Alforque.

The home is a total loss but there was minimal smoke damage to neighboring homes.

Firefighters do not believe anyone was inside at the time but say neighbors have seen homeless people in the area the past few days and noticed trash piling up.

The official cause of the fire is still under investigation.