ALTOONA, Iowa --
Altoona fire officials are calling two Saturday morning house fires arson.
The homes are next door to each other on Stonegate Court Southwest. The home at 701 Stonegate Court SW had recently been sold and was a complete loss. The other home, 627 Stonegate Court SW, was for sale. Both homes were built within the past year by the same developer.
Neighbors awoke around 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning to the sound of the homes burning.
"I heard a rumbling noise," Jeff Thomas said. "It sounded like thunder."
Thomas said he called the fire department. Firefighters arrived just after 1:15 a.m. to find one home destroyed, the other was fully engulfed in flames.
Fire Chief Jerry Whetstone said both homes had an original source of fire. Whetstone said there are leads in the case and fire officials will continue their investigation on Sunday when the homes have cooled.
Fire officials estimate each home was worth approximately $400,000.
