5 September 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – City officials say an overnight house fire in southeast Topeka caused more than $20,000 in damage.
The Topeka Fire Department (TFD) received a call just after 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 4 that there was a house fire located in the 2600 block of SE California Avenue.
Rosie Nichols with the City of Topeka said in a press release that when fire crews arrived on the scene they found heavy smoke and flames coming from the home. Firefighters kept the flames contained to the house, using an offensive fire attack strategy.
Nichols said crews performed a search of the property and found that no one was there at the time of the fire. According to the TFD Investigation Unit, a preliminary investigation stated that the cause of the fire was “incendiary”. The total damage to the structure was $22,000.
There were no working smoke detectors inside of the structure at the time of the fire, according to TFD.