Transient May Have Sparked Suspicious OKC House Fire

Firefighters say a homeless person trying to stay warm may have started a fire inside a vacant house in northeast Oklahoma City.

The fire started just before midnight at 1013 N.E. 19th Street, which is southeast of N.E. 23rd Street and N. Kelley Avenue. Neighbors say just before they saw the flames, they saw someone leaving the empty home.

"Neighbors did indicate they saw someone running from the house shortly before the fire was noticed, so we believe this is a suspicious fire," said Battalion Chief Kirk Wright with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. "We don't have any leads or good descriptions of the person who left the scene."

When firefighters arrived, they discovered the heaviest fire damage was in just one room of the house. They quickly put out the flames, but not before the fire destroyed about a quarter of the home.

"Homeless people, they're looking to get out of the cool weather, so they get in there. They build a fire and sometimes it gets out of hand from them, and we have a house fire like this," Wright said.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call 911.