LYNCHBURG, Va. – Authorities have now ruled that his fire is the result of arson.
The investigation into the fire remains under investigation.
There are no suspects at this time.
Anyone with information is asked to call 434-455-6340.
UPDATE:
The pictures Ryan Wambolt shared with 10 News say it all. Around 3 a.m. Tuesday, Wambolt and his neighbors living near Jones Street in Lynchburg woke up to an orange glow outside their windows.
"I woke up to a huge bang. I have two dogs they both jumped up top were freaking out. My two roommates ran into my room. We ran downstairs the entire house was engulfed in flames," Wambolt said.
Wambolt immediately called 911.
"It was kind of scary because the flames were huge coming out of the side of the house towards like my home and the other neighbors' homes," Wambolt said.
Almost at the same time, Joseph Kidd, another neighbor, was knocking at the door of the woman who lives next to the engulfed house.
"The next door neighbor that I was trying to wake up, she came over later and hugged us both and said, 'Thank you for waking me up,'" Kidd said.
Neighbors say the fire was so big and hot, it burned anything near it, including the car of the woman who lives in the house.
Firefighters say the home is a rental and the tenant, who they've already notified, was out of state. Wambolt spoke with her this morning.
"But then we got in contact with her and found out she (is) still not home," Wambolt said.
Lynchburg firefighters say there was no one inside the home at the time of the fire and there are no injuries to report. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
ORIGINAL:
A house fire in Lynchburg damaged two other homes and multiple vehicles Tuesday morning.
The fire along Jones Street is now contained, though crews are still on scene taking care of hot spots. The fire was raging when firefighters arrived around 3 a.m. and it took them 25 minutes to get it under control.
There was a car parked outside of the house and firefighters were not sure at first if anyone was inside. They thoroughly searched the home and did not find anyone.
Officials have been in contact with the renter and the owner, who are both out of state right now.
The people in the adjacent homes that were damaged had to be evacuated. They are all safe.
The house that originally caught fire is a total loss.
There's no damage estimate yet and the Fire Marshal's Office is investigating what caused the fire.