A fire that destroyed one house and heavily damaged another Saturday morning on East Brady Street was deemed “suspicious.”

The vacant house at 332 E. Brady St. was ablaze around 2 a.m. Saturday, and spread to the adjacent vacant house at 328-330 E. Brady St.

“The fire is definitely suspicious in originality,” said Butler Township fire marshal Larry Christy. “Whether someone was in there cooking, or whether they were doing something illicit, there's no way to prove.”

Christy said the fire was determined to be suspicious because there were no active utilities or appliances in the house that could have started the fire. There also were no reported lightning strikes in the area.

The house at 332 E. Brady St. was condemned. and the house at 328-330 E. Brady St. is being considered to be deemed an unsafe structure.

The Butler City Fire Department, the Butler Police Department and Butler Ambulance Service responded to the call. Volunteer fire departments from Meridian, Unionville and Butler Township also were on scene.