Area fire departments respond to abandoned house fire

Local fire departments responded to a house fire at an abandoned home in Newton Sunday afternoon where several neighbors described the house as having been a "nuisance" for quite some time.

The Newton Fire Department, the Baxter Fire Department and the Kellogg Fire Department responded to a structure fire around 12:15 p.m. at 509 Second Street South.

Fire Marshal Mike Knoll said when the department arrived there was smoke coming from the attic of the home and flames and smoke coming from the second story on the north side of the home.

"The windows on the north side of the home busted out," Knoll said. "The fire appears to have started in the stairwell, but I don't know what started it yet."

Though there wasn't anyone inside of the home at the time, there appeared to be someone inside recently, Knoll said.

"The heat and lights were on inside of the home," Knoll said.

Additionally, the home had a lot of abandoned items. The front porch appeared to have a couch and random items piled up.

Knoll said the fire was under control within a half hour.

"Now we are digging to see if we can find an exact cause —the owner lives out of town," Knoll said.

The next door neighbor, Jody Pickerell, said she found out about the fire from a man riding by on his bicycle who had called 911 and then reportedly knocked on her door.

"I hurried up and told the kids to get their shoes on let's go, and I was really surprised because I thought everything was shut off inside that house," Pickerell said. "She comes once in awhile to mow her lawn."

Pickerell has lived at the home for 10 years, and she says the owner of the abandoned house has never lived there.

The house fire drew attention to the neighborhood as several neighbors gathered to determine what had happened. It was no secret that a lot of the neighbors wished for the house to be condemned. Several neighbors even said they had seen squatters inside of the home.

One of those neighbors is Jean Nagle who has lived in the neighborhood for 31 years. Nagle described the home as a continued nuisance that has been brought to the city's attention several times.