A suspicious fire leveled a vacant house on Cronin Street near Avenue 13 1/4 and Road 29 in the Parksdale area early Saturday morning, according to CalFire authorities.
“The call came in about 4:15 a.m., and the older, wooden 1,200-square-foot house was fully involved in flames on our arrival,” said Battalion Chief Jim Forga. No contents were found in the structure, so it was not believed to be squatters. The home was a total loss.
“The house was for sale and vacant. Power lines were down and the cause is unknown. It’s also possible an accelerant was used … possibly gasoline to cause an explosion like that. Some of the windows were broken, so it’s suspicious in origin. No injuries were reported,” Forga said.
Neighbors said the explosion woke them up and the home’s front door was blown across the street by the force of the blast.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing. Anyone with information on the cause of the fire is asked to call the Madera County Fire Department at 675-7703 or CrimeStoppers at 498-STOP. CrimeStoppers pays a cash reward of up to $3,000 for any information called into their tip line that results in an arrest and conviction in a crime.