Fire of unknown origins destroyed a College Street house Saturday morning, leaving fire officials investigating the suspicious blaze.

The house was unoccupied according to Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker, the rental property unlived in since its renters moved out a few days before the fire. The house, at the time of the blaze Saturday morning, was for sale.

The fire was dispatched just before noon Saturday to the house which is located in a densely populated neighborhood near the intersection of College and Bryant streets, located between the city ballfields and Greenbrook Park. The blaze had already taken hold by the time firemen arrived, the flames licking into the second floor of the two-story dwelling. The fire department used its ladder truck to hit the flames from above while fire fighters attacked the blaze from the perimeter. Given the advanced stage of the blaze, firemen were not sent in due to fears the structure might collapse.

While unable to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire, pending further investigation, fire officials suspect it began somewhere in the middle of the structure.