Zion fire officials are alerting the public to help keep abandoned buildings boarded up. The warning follows a suspicious fire that destroyed a vacant house early Tuesday.
Officials suspect vandals started the fire about 12:15 a.m. after entering through windows that had not been properly boarded up. The fire began on the first floor of the two-story house at 2032 Hebron Ave. No one was injured.
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Zion Deputy Fire Chief Gary Thomas said the house that caught fire had been vacant for at least two years and was scheduled to be demolished this summer.
He said about a month ago his department requested an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency permit to burn the house for practice.
According to Thomas, the homeowner had died several years ago, and the house was left to relatives in Indiana, who apparently neglected it. He said fire officials estimated the value of the house and land at about $40,000.