CASPER — A north-side Casper man and roommate are without a home after a fire Friday evening that is being investigated as a “suspected arson.”
Casper Police spokesperson Rebekah Ladd said Monday there was “no additional public information available” on the fire in the 100 block of West J Street other than a Sunday statement reporting the investigation in conjunction with the Casper Fire Department.
Ladd said the department would likely do another statement when information becomes available.
Casper Police officers were at the property Monday and led a man from the garage area at the back of the property to one of their patrol vehicles.
The home showed smoke damage to the front door. An upper window appeared to have been broken as part of firefighters' efforts to stop the blaze.
Natrona County Assessor records list Daphne Andrade of Spring, Texas, as the property owner.
Andrade, who works as a hospital nurse in the Houston area, told Cowboy State Daily that it was her father who police assisted off the property.
“I have an insurance adjuster going to check on the property today,” she said. “He was there when the cops came to get my dad. … So he lived in the house and obviously he is displaced.”
Asked To Leave
Andrade said her father had a man in his 20s as a roommate who helped him around the property.
“There was a woman coming around and I don’t know how much residence she had taken up, but my dad had asked her to leave,” she said. “That may the reason that they are saying there is an arson involved because of that person.”
Andrade shared the name of a 55-year-old woman who also happens to be listed in the Natrona County jail log as having been arrested by Casper police at 7:42 p.m. Friday. The listing states the woman is in jail on two criminal warrants.
Andrade said she will wait to hear back from her adjuster about the fire damage before determining what will be done with the home.
“I need to talk to my dad to find out what is going to be the best next move,” she said. “I am still in the beginning phases of getting information.”
Casper Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Ross said the department was dispatched to a fire at 5:34 p.m. Friday and updates from the caller indicated someone might be inside.
“After a thorough search of the structure there was no one inside the house at the time of the fire,” Ross said. “Units arrived to find a fire on the back side of the residence spreading. … There was a good amount of smoke.”
The Response
Ross said more than 20 firefighters and five trucks responded to the 1 1/2-story home and were able to knock down the fire without it spreading to adjacent property and homes.
Ross said the cause had not been determined as of Monday morning.
“The investigation is still underway,” he said. “But they have narrowed it down to the kitchen as where the fire started.”
Ross said his department was investigating the fire cause part of the investigation and the police were handling the collection of evidence and interviews related to the blaze.
He said the investigation into the cause likely will take a couple of weeks.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
