Investigators call Friday structure fire 'incendiary'

A couple out looking for their dog Friday night found a structure on fire instead. Jeffrey and Christy Cox were walking on Ashland in Nevada when Christy first noticed the smoke; but at first, it seemed of little consequence.

"We were walking past the house and I thought I saw something like a barbecue," Cox said. "After we passed the house I noticed fire in the window. My husband went back and knocked on the door but no one answered so we called police."

The fire at 222 East Ashland, an unoccupied home owned by Terry Stone, was reported at 10:22 p.m. and firefighters found fire and heavy smoke showing from two sides of the structure. They brought the fire under control in approximately 40 minutes then stood by at the scene until an investigator from the State Fire Marshal's Office arrived, according to a press release from the Nevada Fire Department.

The fire has been ruled an incendiary fire; but no specific information as to how it started was released. The investigation has been turned over to the Fire Marshal's Office and the Nevada Police Department.

The structure was valued at $13,500 and damage is estimated at about $6,500.