A fire apparently caused by a space heater destroyed a home being remodeled at 2800 Dove St., early Thursday, according to fire officials.
The damage to the newly purchased home was estimated at $80,000.
The Fire Department used all 13 firefighters on duty, called in six off-duty firefighters and also got assistance from several neighboring communities to fight the blaze in the bitter cold, said Deputy Fire Chief Roger Mueller.
A motorist saw the blaze, called his wife on his car phone, and she phoned the Fire Department at 1:19 a.m. When firefighters arrived, the kitchen and rear addition were completely engulfed in flames, Mueller said.
The unoccupied building was a two-story frame house with an addition. The owners, who lived elsewhere, were remodeling the home and had left on the space heater apparently to warm it.
A total of 25 firefighters and four engines were needed to fight the fire because of the cold weather and frozen hoses.