Gas-fueled fire causes $50,000 damage to vacant Modesto house

A fire at a vacant home in Modesto’s airport neighborhood early Sunday caused an estimated $50,000 in damage.

According to the Modesto Fire Department, firefighters were called to the home in the 700 block of Empire Avenue at 3:29 a.m.

The first Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District team to arrive found a single-story home “fully involved in fire with immediate threat to occupied structures on the north and south sides,” according to a news release from the Modesto Fire Department.

Because of the threat to other homes, and because a gas line was feeding the fire and downed power lines limited access to the blaze, authorities called for more response.

It took crews an hour to completely extinguish the fire. Nearby structures were protected from fire damage, but one home and a vehicle in its driveway sustained some damage from heat. No occupants were displaced, authorities said.

The vacant home has been the site of two previous fires within the past year, the department said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This story was originally published November 23, 2014 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Gas-fueled fire causes $50,000 damage to vacant Modesto house."