A vacant rental house in the Minnehaha area was gutted by fire early Saturday morning.
Vancouver firefighters from the west side fire company responded to a house fire report at 5202 N.E. 22nd Ave. at 1:23 a.m., according to VFD Capt. Chris Moen.
They arrived at 1:27 a.m., finding the two-story house engulfed in flames, Moen said. “There were flames blowing out of the windows and everywhere,” he said.
Except for the basement, he added, and firefighters searched the basement but found nobody. Moen said the house was apparently known to be a vacant rental property that had been undergoing renovations.
County property records list the 2,000-square-foot house, just blocks southeast of the Ross Complex, as belonging to Edwin and Ellen Anderson.
Moen said about 20 Vancouver firefighters fought the blaze and that Fire District 6 also was briefly on the scene. The fire was under control in about 40 minutes, he said.
The house, worth $130,000, was a total loss, he said.
Firefighters remained on the scene until 5:30 a.m. The cause is still under investigation.