Published 2007-10-08T00:00:00Z”/>

Ashley Latoof

Oct. 8, 2007The Chico Fire Department responded to a call at 6:27 Monday evening at the former Beta Theta Pi fraternity house at 488 E. Third St.

Neighbors called the fire department after they saw smoke coming from the back of the house, said Steve Simpson, chief of the department’s training and prevention division.

The former fraternity house has been abandoned for several months, and homeless people may have been sleeping in it at night, Simpson said.

Some debris had caught fire on the first floor, causing the smoke, he said. Firefighters was able to put the fire out quickly, though the house had some smoke damage.

Simpson doesn’t think the fire was started intentionally, probably the result of somebody cooking food or drugs, or trying to stay warm, he said.

The owners of the house don’t live in California but have been contacted, Simpson said.

Ashley Latoof can be reached at <a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected].</a>